THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


ROD    AND    GUN  SERIES. 


THE 


YOMG  WILD-FOWLERS. 


BY  HARRY  CASTLEMON, 

AUTHOR   OF   "THE   GUNBOAT   SEMES,"    "BOY   TRAPPER   SERIES," 
"ROUGHING   IT   SERIES,"   ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PORTER    &    COATES, 


COPYRIGHT,    1885, 

BY 
PORTER    &    COATES. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGB 

AT  EGAN'S  HOME 5 

M 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  MAN  IN  THE  SINK-BOAT 26 

CHAPTER  III. 
BARR'S  BIG  GUN 46 

4 

CHAPTER  IV. 
AT  SCHOOL  AGAIN 69 

CHAPTER  V. 
LESTER  is  WAKED  UP 89 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  DINNER  IN  PROSPECT Ill 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  SURPRISE 133 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
A  DESPERATE  UNDER* ASJ jf«  , ~  r^r*. .  .  155 


LIBRARY 


IV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
LESTER  BRIGHAM'S  STRATEGY  .......................  176 

CHAPTER  X. 
AN  ALARM  AND  A  STAMPEDE  ........................  198 

CHAPTER  XI. 
A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN  .........................  219 

CHAPTER  XII. 
"  FALL  IN  FOR  DINNER  I  "  ...........................  241 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  BIG-GUNNER'S  CABIN  ............................  264 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
"I'LL  TROUBLE  You  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND"  ........  287 

CHAPTER  XV. 
A  SWIM  FOR  LIBERTY  ..........................  .  ____  309 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
LOST  LN  THE  MARSHES  ..............................  331 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
CONCLUSION  ...............................  .  354 


THE  YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AT    EGAN'S    HOME. 


was  that  noise'  Bert  ?  " 

Don  Gordon  raised  his  head  from  his 
pillow,  and  supporting  himself  on  his  elbow, 
looked  out  at  the  open  window  toward  the  surf 
that  was  rolling  in  upon  the  beach,  and  listened 
intently. 

It  was  a  clear,  cold  night  in  October.  The 
fresh  breeze  that  came  in  through  the  window 
from  the  bay  made  blankets  comfortable,  but 
neither  Don  nor  Bert  would  consent  to  have  the 
windows  of  their  sleeping-room  closed.  This  was 
the  first  night  they  had  ever  passed  within  sight 
of  salt  water,  and  they  wanted  the  waves  to  sing 
them  to  sleep.  In  company  with  Egan  and  Cur- 
tis they  had  been  spending  a  few  weeks  with  their 
fat  crony,  Hopkins,  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of 


6  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  water-fowl,  which  generally  make  their  ap- 
pearance in  numbers  in  the  northern  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake,  ahout  the  middle  of  October.  They 
had  ridden  to  the  hounds,  and  shot  quails  and 
snipes  until  they  were  tired  of  the  sport,  and  this 
particular  night  found  them  at  Egan's  home, 
impatiently  waiting  for  a  chance  at  the  far-famed 
canvas-backs. 

They  had  been  there  but  a  few  hours,  having 
arrived  just  at  supper-time.  Egan's  father  and 
mother  extended  a  most  cordial  greeting  to  them, 
and  Mr.  Egan,  who,  as  we  know,  was  an  old  sol- 
dier, and  who  never  grew  weary  of  hearing  Gus 
(that  was  the  ex-sergeant's  Christian  name)  tell 
about  that  fight  at  Hamilton  Creek  Bridge,  would 
not  let  the  visitors  go  to  bed  until  he  had  heard 
their  description  of  it. 

Knowing  that  her  son's  guests  would  want  to 
see  all  they  could  of  salt  water  during  their  stay 
in  Maryland,  Mrs.  Egan  had  furnished  for  their 
especial  benefit  a  large  back  room,  which  looked 
out  upon  the  bay,  and  supplied  it  with  beds 
enough  to  accommodate  them  all.  Here,  when 
night  came,  they  could  lie  at  their  ease  and  talk 
over  the  day's  exploits  until  the  music  of  the  surf 


AT    EGAN'S    HOME.  7 

lulled  them  to  sleep.  On  the  night  in  question 
their  tongues  had  run  with  amazing  swiftness  and 
persistency  until  nearly  twelve  o'clock  ;  then  they 
began  answering  one  another  in  monosyllables, 
and  finally  Don  Gordon,  who  was  the  last  to  stop 
talking,  placed  his  pillow  in  the  open  window,  in 
front  of  which  his  bed  stood,  laid  his  head  upon 
it,  and  was  fast  losing  himself  in  dream-land, 
when  suddenly  a  sound  like  a  single  peal  of  dis- 
tant thunder  came  to  his  ears,  and  brought  him 
back  to  earth  again. 

"  Are  you  all  asleep  in  there  ?  "  exclaimed  Don, 
drawing  in  his  head,  and  speaking  to  nobody  in 
particular.  "  What  was  that  ?  " 

"  What  was  what  ?  "  asked  Egan,  drowsily. 

"  Why,  that  noise  I  heard  just  now.  It  sound- 
ed something  like  the  report  of  a  cannon." 

"  Well,  it  wasn't  a  cannon  ;  it  was  a  duck- 
gun,"  replied  Egan. 

"  Oh  !  "  exclaimed  Don.  "  Those  poachers  are 
at  work,  are  they  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  and  you  will  probably  hear  that  gun  a 
good  many  times  during  your  stay,  if  you  take  the 
trouble  to  listen  for  it,"  said  Egan.  "  It  is  har- 
vest-time with  these  pot-hunters  now,  and  in  a 


8  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLEKS. 

few  days  they  will  make  the  ducks  so  wild  that 
you  can't  get  within  rifle-shot  of  them/' 

"We  don't  have  any  market-shooters  in  my 
State — or  at  least  in  the  county  in  which  I 
live — and  I  am  very  glad  of  it,"  said  Don. 
"Why  don't  the  farmers  who  live  along  these 
shores  wake  up,  and  put  a  stop  to  this  night- 
hunting  by  capturing  the  guns  ?  I  suppose  it 
would  put  the  poachers  to  some  trouble  to  get 
others  ? 

"  Well — yes  ;  and  to  some  little  expense  also," 
replied  the  ex-sergeant.  "  How  much  do  you 
suppose  one  of  those  big  guns  cost  ?  " 

Don  replied  that  he  had  no  idea,  having  never 
seen  one  of  them. 

"  I  saw  one  last  summer  that  cost  six  hundred 
dollars  in  England,"  continued  Egan.  "It  was 
captured  by  a  detective  who  was  sent  here  by 
some  Baltimore  sportsmen.  You  see,  some  of  the 
rich  men  who  live  in  that  city,  and  in  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  pay  high  prices  for  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  a  portion  of  these  ducking  shores,  and 
they  get  mad  when  the  market-shooters  come 
around  with  their  howitzers,  and  scare  all  the  birds 
away  to  other  feeding-grounds.'" 


AT   EGAN'S   HOME.  9 

"  I  don't  blame  them  for  getting  mad,"  said 
Don. 

"Neither  do  I.  If  a  man  pays  four  or  five 
hundred  dollars  a  year  for  a  shooting  privilege,  it 
is  because  he  thinks  he  and  his  friends  will  have 
some  sport  out  of  it." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  these  shores  rent 
for  any  such  sum  as  that !  "  exclaimed  Don. 

"Don't  I,  though?"  replied  Egan.  "Father 
has  been  importuned  time  and  again  to  lease  his 
shores  to  different  clubs,  and  he  might  as  well 
make  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  as 
to  let  it  alone  ;  but  he  likes  to  shoot  as  well  as 
anybody,  and  he  likes  to  see  his  visitors  enjoy 
themselves,  so  he  keeps  his  ducking-points  for  his 
own  use." 

"  Do  the  big-gunners  ever  trouble  you  by 
shooting  over  your  grounds  ?  " 

"  Not  to  any  great  extent.  You  see  the  ducks 
don't  bed  in  these  narrows  ;  they  want  plenty  of 
elbow-room." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  ( bed '  ?  "  inquired  Don. 

"  Why,  when  the  ducks  gather  in  large  flocks 
and  sit  on  the  water,  either  during  the  day-time 
or  at  night,  they  are  said  to  'bed'  or  'bunch.' 


10  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

When  a  market-shooter  finds  one  of  these  beds  in 
the  bay,  he  watches  it  to  see  that  it  does  not  break 
up,  and  when  darkness  comes  to  conceal  his  move- 
ments, he  goes  out  and  shoots  into  it.  He  some- 
times gets  as  many  as  eighty  ducks  at  a  single 
discharge  of  his  blunderbuss." 

"  How  large  a  load  does  that  blunderbuss 
carry  ?  " 

11  Half  a  pound  of  powder  and  two  pounds  of 
shot." 

"  Good  gracious  ! "  exclaimed  Don.  "  How 
heavy  is  it  ?  " 

"  The  one  I  saw  weighed  a  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds,"  replied  Egan.  "  It  was  ten  feet  long." 

"  There  ought  to  be  a  law  prohibiting  the  use 
of  such  weapons,"  said  Don,  indignantly. 

"  There  is  a  law  which  says  that  you  not  only 
shall  not  use  them,  but  that  you  must  not  have 
them  in  your  possession/'  answered  Egan.  "  If 
you  violate  that  law,  you  render  yourself  liable  to 
a  fine  of  two  hundred  dollars  or  imprisonment ; 
but  who  is  there  about  here  who  is  going  to  com- 
plain of  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  the  men  who  own  these  shores,"  replied 
Don. 


AT   EGAN'S   HOME.  1] 

"  They  dare  not  do  it,"  said  Egan. 

"  Well,  I  would  do  it  if  I  lived  here/'  declared 
Don,  with  a  good  deal  of  earnestness. 

"  Then  you  would  find  yourself  in  trouble 
directly.  These  big-gunners  are  a  desperate  lot 
of  men,  the  first  thing  you  know,  and  they  will 
not  submit  to  any  interference  in  their  business." 

"  If  the  law  says  they  shan't  follow  that  busi- 
ness, I  don't  see  how  they  are  going  to  help  them- 
selves," saicf  Don. 

"  They  can  take  revenge  on  any  one. who  incurs 
their  displeasure,  can't  they  ?  They  can  and  they 
will.  If  a  person  renders  himself  obnoxious  to 
them,  the  first  thing  he  knows  some  of  his  build- 
ings will  go  up  in  smoke,  or  his  boats  will  be 
smashed,  or  the  rigging  of  his  yacht  cut,  or  his 
oyster-bed  will  be  fouled.  Why,  they  don't  hesi- 
tate to  make  a  fight  with  the  police,  if  they  are 
surprised  at  their  business.  That  Baltimore  de- 
tective, who  worked  his  way  into  their  good  graces 
and  joined  them  in  their  night  excursions,  said 
that  the  smack  he  went  out  in  was  as  thoroughly 
armed  as  any  little  pirate." 

"I'd  like  to  go  out  with  them  just  once  in  order 
to  see  how  they  operate/1  said  Don,  in  whom  the 


12  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

love  of  adventure  was  as  strong  as  it  ever  had 
been.  "  They  must  see  plenty  of  excitement." 

Egan,  who  was  more  than  half  asleep,  replied 
that  they  probably  did,  especially  while  they  were 
dodging  the  police  boats  ;  but  he  did  not  believe 
that  his  friend  Don  would  ever  learn  by  personal 
observation  how  the  big-gunners  conducted  their 
business.  Well,  he  didn't ;  but  there  were  others 
of  our  characters  who  did,  and  who  they  were, 
and  how  they  came  to  be  permitted  to  accompany 
the  poachers  on  one  of  their  nocturnal  expeditions, 
shall  be  told  further  on. 

Don  would  have  been  glad  to  hear  more  of  the 
big-gunners,  but  a  gentle  snore  coming  from  the 
other  side  of  the  room  told  him  that  Egan  had 
gone  to  sleep  again  ;  so  he  rearranged  his  pillow 
and  prepared  to  go  to  sleep  himself. 

The  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and  with 
just  enough  frost  in  the  salt  air  to  make  it  invigo- 
rating, and  to  send  the  blood  coursing  through 
one's  veins  with  accelerated  speed.  The  visitors, 
who  had  not  been  given  much  opportunity  to  look 
about  them  the  night  before,  were  up  at  the  first 
peep  of  day,  and  their  host  led  them  out  to  show 
them  what  there  was  to  be  seen.  As  he  opened 


AT   EGAN'S   HOME.  13 

the  door  and  stepped  upon  the  porch,  he  was 
greeted  by  four  large,  shaggy  dogs,  which  fawned 
upon  him  with  every  demonstration  of  delight, 
but  showed  their  white  teeth  to  the  other  boys 
when  they  attempted  to  scrape  an  acquaintance 
with  them. 

"  They  are  as  ugly  in  disposition  as  they  are 
homely  in  appearance,"  said  Curtis.  "Egan,  why 
do  you  keep  such  worthless  brutes  about  you  ?  " 

"  They  are  not  worthless,"  answered  the  ex-ser- 
geant. "  They  would  sell  to-day  for  two  hundred 
dollars  apiece  to  any  one  of  a  dozen  men  whose 
names  I  could  mention." 

"  What  makes  them  so  valuable  ? "  asked 
Curtis.  "They  don't  look  as  though  they  are 
worth  feeding." 

"  I  know  they  are  not  handsome,  but  they  are 
very  useful,"  replied  Egan.  "They  are  called 
Chesapeake  Bay  dogs,  and  they  belong  to  a  breed 
that  are  considered  to  be.  the  best  retrievers  in  the 
world.  You  don't  need  a  boat  to  pick  up  your 
wounded  ducks  when  you  have  one  of  these  fel- 
lows in  the  blind  with  you,  and  neither  do  you 
have  to  tell  him  when  to  go  out  after  a  bird.  If 
you  kill  half  a  dozen  ducks  and  wound  one,  he 


14  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

will  swim  straight  through  the  dead  ones  and  take 
after  the  wounded  one  ;  and  he'll  have  it,  too,  be- 
fore he  comes  back  to  the  shore.  That  one,"  con- 
tinued Egan,  pointing  to  the  largest  of  the  dogs, 
"  once  swam  more  than  three  miles  through  float- 
ing ice  in  pursuit  of  a  wing-tipped  canvas-back. 
Father  was  in  the  blind  with  me,  and  he  was  so 
very  much  afraid  that  he  was  going  to  lose  the 
dog,  that  he  sent  me  out  in  a  boat  to  pick  him  up. 
When  I  overtook  him  he  had  the  bird,  and  was 
striking  out  for  the  shore,  apparently  none  the 
worse  for  his  long  cold  swim.  Dogs  of  this  breed 
are  very  enduring  while  they  last,  but  in  the  end 
they  are  laid  up  with  rheumatism,  just  as  a  man 
would  be  who  spent  his  life  as  they  do.  Now, 
come  with  me,  and  I  will  show  you  the  swiftest 
and  handiest  little  boat  on  the  bay.  I  call  her 
a  cutter  for  short,  and  that  is  what  almost  every 
one  else  calls  her  ;  but  she  isn't  a  cutter — she's  a 
yawl." 

The  boys  followed  their  host  along  a  broad 
walk,  through  an  extensive  and  well-kept  flower- 
garden  which,  in  the  proper  season,  must  have 
been  one  solid  mass  of  bloom,  and  down  to  a  little 
stream  that  flowed  into  the  bay  a  short  distance 


AT   EGAN'S   HOME.  15 

from  the  house.  On  the  bank  they  found  a  snug 
boat-house,  which  was  used  as  a  place  of  storage 
for  two  or  three  canoes,  oyster-dredges,  lobster- 
pots,  and  various  other  things  which  none  of  the 
visitors,  except  Hopkins,  knew  the  use  of.  One 
of  the  canoes  having  been  shoved  into  the  water, 
the  boys  got  into  it,  and  pushed  off  toward  a 
couple  of  little  vessels  that  were  riding  at  anchor 
in  the  bay.  One  of  them  was  an  oyster-boat — 
Don  and  Bert  were  sure  of  that,  for  in  rig  and 
model  she  corresponded  with  the  descriptions  they 
had  read  of  such  vessels  ;  but  the  other  one  puz- 
zled them.  She  was  not  a  sloop,  for  she  had  two 
masts  ;  and  yet  she  was  not  a  schooner,  because 
the  mizzen  mast,  if  that  was  the  proper  name  for 
it,  was  stepped  close  to  the  stern.  But  she  was 
a  beautiful  little  vessel  they  found  when  they 
boarded  her,  and  very  roomy,  too,  although  she 
was  only  seventeen  feet  in  length,  with  five  feet 
beam.  She  had  a  house  or  hatch  on  deck,  which 
proved  to  be  the  top  of  the  cabin,  and  a  small 
cock-pit,  in  which  the  boy  who  managed  the  helm 
stood  or  sat  while  he  steered  the  vessel.  The 
cabin  was  spacious,  owing  to  the  deep,  straight 
sides  of  the  boat,  and  was  provided  with  two 


16  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

berths,  one  on  each  side,  which  could  be  turned 
up  against  the  bulk-head,  or  let  down  at  pleasure, 
like  the  berths  in  a  sleeping-car.  Behind  the  fore- 
mast, which  came  down  through  the  forward  end 
of  the  cabin,  was  the  alcohol  stove,  on  which  the 
captain  and  owner  cooked  all  his  meals  while  he 
was  cruising  about  the  bay — that  is,  when  he 
didn't  feel  in  the  humor  to  go  ashore  to  cook 
them,  or  couldn't  get  ashore  on  account  of  the 
surf.  There  were  two  water-tanks,  plenty  of 
lockers  in  which  to  stow  food,  clothing,  and  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  accoutrements — in  short,  she 
seemed  to  be  perfect  in  every  particular  ;  and  Don 
and  Bert,  who,  as  we  know,  took  almost  as  much 
delight  in  a  sail-boat  as  they  did  in  their  ponies, 
were  prompt  to  say  so. 

"Yes,  I  am  rather  proud  of  her,  because  she 
was  built  according  to  my  own  ideas  of  what  a 
boat  for  single-handed  cruising  ought  to  be,"  said 
Egan,  as  he  led  the  way  out  of  the  cabin,  and 
seated  Jiimself  in  the  cock-pit.  "  First  and  fore- 
most, you  can't  capsize  her.  If  the  Mystery  had 
been  built  after  this  model  she  would  have  weath- 
ered that  gale  without  shipping  so  much  as  a 
bucket  of  water." 


AT    EGAN'S    HOME.  17 

(It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Mystery  was  a 
yacht  belonging  to  Mr.  Packard,  a  brother  of 
Judge  Packard,  who  was  General  Gordon's  nearest 
neighbor.  Accompanied  by  his  wife  and  child, 
and  two  or  three  friends,  the  Mystery's  owner  set 
sail  from  Newport  for  Bridgeport,  but  was  over- 
taken on  the  way  by  a  terrific  storm,  which 
wrecked  his  yacht,  and  sent  her  to  the  bottom. 
Her  entire  crew  would  have  gone  with  her,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  fact  that  Enoch  Williams  and 
his  crowd  of  deserters,  who  had  run  away  in  the 
Sylph,  were  close  at  hand.  Enoch  and  Lester 
Brigham  went  off  in  a  small  boat,  and  saved  the 
yacht's  crew  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives,  and 
when  they  were  captured  by  Captain  Mack  and 
his  men,  who  were  following  close  in  their  wake 
in  the  schooner  Idlewild,  and  taken  back  to 
the.  academy  under  arrest,  they  were  looked 
upon  as  heroes  rather  than  culprits.  Their  act 
of  bravery  did  not,  however,  save  them  from  a 
court-martial.  They  lost  every  one  of  the  credit 
marks  they  had  earned  during  the  term,  and 
that  took  away  their  last  chance  for  promotion. 
Egan  and  his  friends  could  recall  all  the  inci- 
dents connected  with  the  wreck  and  the  rescue, 


18  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  they  became  excited  whenever  they  thought 
of  them.) 

"What  do  you  mean  by  ( single-handed  cruis- 
ing' ?  "  asked  Curtis,  continuing  the  conversation 
which  we  have  for  the  moment  interrupted. 
"  Can  one  person  handle  this  boat  in  all  kinds  of 
weather  ?  " 

"  Certainly  ;  and  there  is  where  the  beauty  of 
her  rig  shows  itself.  If  I  want  to  beat  in  or  out 
of  a  narrow  channel  I  run  up  the  mainsail  only, 
and  then  she  works  like  a  cat-boat,  never  missing 
stays,  but  keeping  her  headway  clear  around.  If 
I  am  caught  out  in  a  gale,  I  drop  the  mainsail, 
and  scud  along  under  the  jib  and  mizzen.  I  have 
stayed  out  on  the  bay  alone,  fooling  around,  when 
boats  that  were  twice  as  big  as  this  were  running 
for  shelter.  I  expect  to  lose  her  some  day,  but  it 
will  be  through  no  fault  of  my  own." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  asked  Bert, 

"  Why,  I  am  accused  of  having  assisted  that 
detective  in  running  those  big-gunners  to  earth 
last  fall,"  answered  Egan.  "  I  didn't  do  it,  but 
some  of  their  friends  saw  me  talking  with  the 
detective  on  several  different  occasions,  and  they 
know  that  I  detest  their  business,  for  I  have  often 


AT  EGAN'S  HOME.  19 

said  so  when  perhaps  I  ought  to  have  kept  my 
tongue  still.  It  is  very  plain  that  somebody  gave 
the  detective  all  the  information  he  wanted,  and, 
as  I  said,  these  poachers  lay  it  to  me.  They  have 
sent  me  word  that  they  intend  to  get  even  with 
me,  and  that's  why  I  expect  to  lose  my  boat." 

"  Can't  you  head  them  off  in  any  way  ?  "  asked 
Don,  whose  chivalrous  nature  revolted  at  the  mere 
mention  of  so  cowardly  a  way  of  "  getting  even." 
"  You  are  not  obliged  to  stand  still  and  see  your 
property  destroyed." 

"  Of  course  not,  and  I  don't  intend  to  do  it, 
either,"  said  Egan,  in  very  decided  tones.  "These 
boats  are  guarded  every  night,  and  have  been  for 
a  year.  One  of  our  darkies  sleeps  on  board  the 
oyster-boat,  and  he  has  two  of  the  retrievers  and 
a  loaded  musket  for  company.  It  will  be  a  cold 
season  when  those  dogs  get  left,  for  they  are  all 
ears  and  nose,  and  would  rather  fight  than  eat 
when  they  are  hungry.  Now,  perhaps,  we  had 
better  go  ashore.  Breakfast  will  be  ready  directly, 
and  then  we  will  take  a  run  down  the  bay,  unless 
you  can  think  of  something  else  you  would  rather 
do." 

The  boys  hastened   to  assure   their  host  that 


20  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

they  couldn't  think  of  anything  that  would  afford 
them  so  much  pleasure  as  a  sail  in  his  neat  little 
cutter,  and  so  one  day's  sport  was  provided  for. 
\Ye  may  run  far  enough  ahead  of  our  story  to  say 
that  they  thoroughly  enjoyed  their  boat-ride,  but 
whether  or  not  they  saw  any  fun  in  some  things 
that  followed  close  upon  the  heels  of  it,  is  another 
matter  altogether. 

Having  drawn  the  canoe  high  and  dry  upon  the 
beach,  the  boys  went  into  the  house  and  up  to 
Egan's  room,  which  contained  his  small  but  well- 
chosen  library,  his  hunting  and  fishing  outfit,  and 
a  few  specimens  of  his  skill  as  a  sportsman  and 
cabinet-maker  ;  for  Egan  understood  the  use  of 
tools,  and  spent  every  stormy  day  when  at  home 
in  his  shop.  Prominent  among  his  specimens  was 
a  magnificent  white  swan  which,  after  being  so 
badly  wounded  that  it  could  not  take  wing,  had 
led  him  a  two  hours'1  chase  in  the  teeth  of  a  fierce 
gale,  and  through  water  covered  with  huge  cakes 
of  ice,  that  every  now  and  then  were  thrown  by 
the  waves  against  the  sides  of  his  yacht  with  force 
enough  to  make  her  tremble  all  over. 

"  I  had  a  jolly  time,  but  a  wet  one,"  said  Egan, 
whose  eyes  sparkled  with  excitement  when  he 


AT   EQAN'S   HOME.  21 

spoke  of  the  circumstance.  "  But  didn't  father 
scold  me  when  I  came  ashore  ?  Well,  I  deserved 
it,  for  it  was  a  careless  trick,  going  out  in  all  that 
wind  and  ice  when  not  another  boat  would  ven- 
ture away  from  the  shore  ;  but  I  wanted  the 
swan,  and  1  desired  to  test  my  yacht,  which  had 
come  into  my  possession  only  a  week  before,  and 
that  was  the  reason  I  did  it.  By  the  way,"  added 
Egan,  pointing  to  something  which,  enclosed  in  a 
frame  of  his  own  construction,  hung  suspended 
from  the  swan's  long,  white  neck,  "  do  you  know 
what  that  is  ?  " 

Yes,  the  boys  knew  what  it  was  as  soon  as  they 
looked  at  it.  It  was  the  five  dollar  bill  that  the 
paymaster  had  given  him  for  the  part  he  had 
borne  in  putting  down  the  Hamilton  riot.  Every 
boy  who  was  in  that  fight  had  received  the  same 
amount,  and  they  had  one  and  all  declared  that 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  spend  a  cent  of  it ; 
but  the  pancakes  at  Cony  Eyan's  proved  to 
be  too  strong  a  temptation  for  some  of  them  to 
resist,  and  our  five  friends  were  among  the  very 
few  who  had  held  to  their  resolution. 

Breakfast  being  over  and  a  substantial  lunch  pro- 
vided, the  boys  returned  to  the  cutter,  which  had 


22  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

been  christened  the  "  Sallie  "  by  her  proud  captain 
and  owner.  Hopkins  declared  that  she  was 
named  after  Asa  Peters'  sweetheart — the  one  he 
had  intended  to  take  to  the  show  on  the  day  that 
Don  and  Egan  borrowed  his  clothes  ;  but  the  in- 
dignant master  of  the  yacht  affirmed  that  there 
wasn't  a  word  of  truth  in  it,  adding  that  if  he 
had  been  going  to  name  his  boat  after  anybody's 
girl,  he  would  have  named  her  after  his  own,  who 
was  by  all  odds  the  very  handsomest  one  in 
America. 

Having  stowed  their  guns  and  cartridge-belts 
away  in  one  of  the  lockers,  the  boys  went  on  deck 
to  get  the  yacht  under  way.  Egan  was  the  only 
sailor  in  the  party,  but  the  others,  who,  during 
their  cruise  in  the  Idlewild  in  pursuit  of  Enoch 
Williams  and  his  band  of  deserters,  had  learned 
to  tell  a  halliard  from  a  down-haul,  were  able  to 
give  him  considerable  assistance,  and  in  a  very  few 
minutes  the  Sallie  was  flying  .down  the  bay  with 
all  her  canvas  set  except  the  big  topsail,  which 
her  cautious  captain  did  not  think  she  could 
stand,  seeing  that  there  was  no  boat  for  her  to 
race  with,  and  no  wing-tipped  swan  scudding 
along  in  front  of  her. 


AT    EGAN'S    HOME.  23 

Being  fairly  under  way,  the  boys  began  amusing 
themselves  as  live  boys  generally  do  when  they  are 
entirely  satisfied  with  themselves  and  their  sur- 
roundings— by  singing  songs  and  telling  stories. 
Egan,  who  stood  at  the  helm,  was  roaring  out 
(with  little  regard  to  time  and  melody,  it  must  be 
confessed),  "  I'm  going  to  fight  mid  Zeigle,"  when, 
just  as  he  was  saying  that  he  would  like  to  have 
"sweitzer  kase  and  pretzel"  for  rations  rather 
than  "salty  pork,"  the  Sallie  shot  around  a  low 
point  which  jutted  out  into  the  bay,  and  tore 
swiftly  down  upon  what  appeared  to  be  an  im- 
mense flock  of  canvas-backs  and  red-heads.  They 
were  floating  about  among  the  waves  with  their 
heads  erect,  as  if  they  were  on  the  point  of  taking 
wing,  while  about  two  hundred  yards  farther  down 
the  bay,  approaching  on  rapid  pinion,  was  another 
and  much  larger  flock,  which  was  already  begin- 
ning to  "  swing  "  as  if  preparing  to  alight  among 
the  ducks  on  the  water. 

"  Great  Scott !  "  cried  Don,  making  a  headlong 
rush  for  the  companion  ladder.  "  Why  didn't  I 
bring  my  gun  up  with  me  ?  " 

"  Well,  that  is  rich  !  "  exclaimed  Egan,  with  a 
hearty  laugh.  "  I  thought  you  had  hunted  ducks 


24  THE   YOTTNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

often  enough  to  know  the  difference  between  a 
live  bird  and  a  decoy.  Don't  you  see  that  sink- 
box  right  in  the  midst  of  them  ?  " 

Yes,  Don  saw  it,  after  he  had  taken  another 
and  a  closer  look,  and  he  saw  too  that  the  objects 
which  he  had  at  the  first  glance  mistaken  for  can- 
vas-backs and  red-heads,  were  wooden  counter- 
feits, so  closely  resembling  live  birds  in  form  and 
coloring  that  almost  anybody,  except  an  expert, 
would  have  been  deceived. 

The  approaching  flock  changed  its  course  as 
soon  as  the  yacht  rounded  the  point,  and  having 
seen  them  well  started  on  their  way  toward  the 
middle  of  the  bay,  Don  turned  to  look  at  the 
sink-boat.  It  was  in  reality  a  floating  blind — an 
anchored  box  with  hinged  flaps  to  keep  the  waves 
from  washing  into  it.  When  these  sink-boats  are 
used  the  gunner  lies  on  his  back  completely  out  of 
sight,  and  shoots  into  the  passing  flocks  as  they 
swing  to  his  decoys.  The  birds  he  kills  are  picked 
up  by  a  confederate,  who  also  skirmishes  around 
in  his  canoe,  putting  up  every  flock  he  can  find, 
and  trying  to  start  them  toward  the  gunner.  If 
the  latter  has  all  the  sport,  he  likewise  has  the 
hardest  part  of  the  work  to  perform.  It  is  drown- 


AT   EGAN'S   HOME.  25 

ing  work  when  the  sea  comes  up  suddenly  and  fills 
his  box  full  of  water  before  his  companion  in  the 
canoe  can  get  him  out  of  it ;  it  is  freezing  work 
when  the  wind  chops  around  to  the  north  and 
drives  the  rain  and  sleet  before  it  with  cutting 
force  ;  it  is  uncertain  work  when  that  same  wind 
drives  the  ducks  off  shore  to  the  open  waters  of 
the  bay  ;  and  it  is  tiresome  and  unpleasant  owing 
to  the  cramped  position  the  gunner  is  compelled 
to  occupy.  But,  as  a  general  thing,  he  shoots 
plenty  of  birds,  and  those  he  doesn't  shoot  he 
frightens  away  so  that  no  one  else  can  shoot 
them. 

As  Don  looked  at  the  sink-boat  he  saw  the  occu- 
pant's head  rise  slowly  above  the  side  of  it.  He 
gazed  in  every  direction  to  see  what  it  was  that 
had  frightened  the  flock  for  which  he  had  been  so 
long  and  patiently  waiting,  and  which  he  had 
hoped  would  alight  among  his  decoys,  and  finally 
he  turned  his  face  towards  the  yacht.  It  was 
a  very  savage  looking  face,  thought  Bert,  who  was 
gazing  at  it  through  Egan's  binoculars,  and  that 
the  owner  of  it  felt  savage  was  made  evident  by 
the  first  words  he  uttered. 
2 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT. 

"TTTHEN  the  man  in  the  sink-boat  discovered 
the  approaching  yacht  he  laid  down  his 
gun,  got  upon  his  knees,  and  shook  both  his  fists 
at  the  boy  who  stood  at  the  helm. 

"You're  always  around  when  you  are  not 
wanted,  Gus  Egan,"  said  he,  fiercely.  "If  you 
know  when  you  are  well  off,  you  -will  learn  to 
mind  your  own  business.  I've  the  best  notion  in 
the  world  to  send  a  charge  of  duck-shot  after  you." 

"  He  would  do  it  in  a  minute  if  he  thought  he 
could  escape  the  consequences,"  said  Egan,  in  a 
low  tone.  "  He  is  one  of  the  fellows  who  has  so 
often  threatened  me.  The  detective  took  his  big 
gun  away  from  him,  and  now  he  has  to  resort  to  a 
sink-boat  to  get  birds  for  market." 

"I  shouldn't  like  to  make  an  enemy  of  that 
man,"  observed  Bert,  as  he  passed  the  glass  over 


THE   MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT.  27 

to  Hopkins.  "  Unless  his  countenance  belies  him, 
he  is  capable  of  doing  anything.'' 

"  His  face  is  a  true  index  to  his  character/'  re- 
plied Egan.  "  He  is  accused  of  almost  everything 
that's  bad,  and  some  day  there  will  be  trouble  in 
this  neighborhood.  He  is  under  indictment  for 
shooting  ducks  contrary  to  law,  but  he  says  he 
will  get  up  the  biggest  kind  of  a  fight  before  he 
will  be  arrested,  and  he  means  every  word  of  it." 

"If  that  yawl  of  yours  scares  just  one  more 
flock  of  ducks  for  me,  she  will  never  scare  another," 
continued  the  man  in  the  sink-boat.  "  You  have 
done  about  damage  enough  on  this  bay  by  taking 
the  bread  out  of  poor  men's  mouths,  and  it  is  high 
time  you  were  larnt  better  manners." 

Egan,  who  did  not  act  as  though  he  had  either 
seen  or  heard  the  occupant  of  the  sink-boat,  kept 
the  Sallie  away  a  point  or  two,  so  as  to  clear 
the  outer  edge  of  the  decoys,  and  ran  on  down  the 
bay  until  he  came  opposite  to  a  small  board  cabin 
that  stood  on  the  shore  in  the  midst  of  a  little 
grove  ;  then  he  threw  the  yacht  up  into  the  wind 
and  called  out:  "0  Eph!"  whereupon  an  aged 
negro,  who  was  sitting  on  a  bench  beside  the  open 
door,  arose  and  hobbled  down  to  the  beach,  bow- 


28  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

ing  and  pulling  at  his  almost  brimless  hat  as  he 
came. 

"  That's  old  Eph,  the  terrapin  hunter/'  observed 
Egan.  "He  makes  anywhere  from  ten  to  forty 
dollars  a  week  out  of  his  '  birds/  as  they  are  called, 
but,  like  the  most  of  his  race,  he  spends  his  money 
as  fast  as  he  gets  it,  and  what  will  he  do  when  the 
rheumatism  gets  a  good  grip  on  him  and  he  has 
to  quit  work,  I  don't  know.  I  suppose  he  will 
have  to  fall  back  on  father  for  support,  because 
he  belonged  to  our  family  before  the  war." 

"  Terrapins  are  nothing  more  nor  less  than  mud- 
turtles,  I  believe  ?"'said  Curtis,  inquiringly. 

Egan  replied  that  that  was  just  what  they  were 
—  turtles  that  were  caught  in  tide- water ;  and 
then  he  called  out  to  the  negro,  who  had  by  this 
time  reached  the  water's  edge  : 

"  I  say,  Eph,  have  you  two  or  three  diamond- 
backs  to  spare  ?  " 

"  Ise  allers  got  some  for  you,  Marse  Gus,"  was 
Epb/s  answer. 

"All  right.  Come  aboard  and  get  this 
basket." 

The  negro  stepped  into  a  canoe  that  lay  on  the 
beach  close  at  hand,  and  a  few  strokes  with  the 


THE   MAN   IN    THE   SINK-BOAT.  29 

paddle  brought  him  alongside  the  yacht.  The 
basket  containing  their  lunch  was  passed  down  to 
him  with  the  request  that  he  would  have  three 
diamond-backs,  cooked  in  his  best  style,  ready  for 
them  at  one  o'clock  sharp.  The  negro  promised 
compliance  and  shoved  off  for  the  shore,  after  ex- 
changing a  few  complimentary  remarks  with  Egan, 
who,  it  was  plain,  was  a  favorite  of  his,  while  the 
yacht  filed  away  on  her  course. 

"  What  is  a  diamond-back  ? "  asked  Don,  as 
soon  as  they  were  fairly  under  way. 

"  It  is  a  terrapin  not  less  than  seven  inches  in 
length,  measuring  along  the  under  shell,"  answered 
Egan.  "They  are  better  than  the  larger  and 
coarser  kinds,  just  as  a  two  and  a  half  pound  yel- 
low pike  is  better  than  one  that  weighs  nine  or  ten 
pounds.  They  bring  from  twenty- five  to  thirty- 
six  dollars  a  dozen,  while  the  river  turtles  are 
worth  only  nine  dollars  ;  but  the  latter  are  exten- 
sively used  by  hotels  and  restaurants  where  they 
are  served  up  as  diamond-backs,  just  as  red-heads 
are  served  up  as  canvas-backs.  However,  as  both 
those  species  of  ducks  live  on  the  same  kind  of 
food — wild  celery — there  is  not  so  much  difference 
between  them  as  there  is  between  the  tide-water 


30  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  river  terrapin.  Hallo  !  Hand  me  that  glass 
a  moment,  Curtis." 

The  boys  looked  around  to  discover  what  it  was 
that  had  called  forth  this  exclamation  from  the 
skipper,  and  all  they  could  see  was  a  neat  little 
schooner  standing  up  the  bay.  Egan  leveled  the 
glass  at  her  for  a  second  or  two,  and  then  handed 
it  back  to  Curtis,  saying : 

"  Just  as  I  expected.  Now  look  out  for  break- 
ers." 

Curtis,  in  turn,  took  a  look  at  the  schooner  and 
was  surprised  to  see  that  she  was  manned  by 
academy  boys,  to  wit,  Enoch  Williams,  Jones, 
and  Lester  Brigham.  As  the  little  vessels  dashed 
by  each  other,  moving  swiftly  in  opposite  direc- 
tions, no  sign  of  recognition  was  exchanged  be- 
tween the  crews.  They  seldom  spoke  now. 

Don  and  his  brother  had  made  commendable 
progress  during  their  last  year  at  school,  and  had 
both  received  well-earned  promotions  at  the  close 
of  the  examination.  Don  was  now  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  academy  battalion,  and  Bert  was 
the  ranking  captain  ;  while  Lester  and  his  two 
friends  had  not  been  able  to  win  so  much  as  a 
corporal's  chevrons.  Of  course  this  made  them 


THE   MAN   IN    THE   SINK-BOAT.  31 

angry j  and  they  were  waiting  for  an  opportunity 
to  be  revenged  upon  Don  and  Bert.  How  the 
latter  could  be  blamed  because  Lester  and  his 
cronies  had  failed  in  their  examination,  it  would 
have  puzzled  a  sensible  boy  to  determine.  Prob- 
ably Lester  did  not  understand  the  matter  him- 
self;  but  there  was  one  thing  he  did  understand, 
and  that  was,  that  things  were  going  altogether 
too  smoothly  with  Don  and  Bert.  It  would-  have 
afforded  him  infinite  pleasure  if  he  could  have 
been  the  means  of  getting  them  into  some  serious 
trouble.  During  the  last  school  term  he  had 
watched  them  as  closely  as  a  cat  ever  watched  a 
mouse,  in  the  hope  that  he  would  see  a  chance  to 
report  them  for  some  neglect  of  duty  ;  but  he  had 
his  trouble  for  his  pains.  As  soldiers  and  students 
there  was  not  the  least  fault  to  be  found  with 
them,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  Enoch,  Lester 
would  have  given  up  in  despair.  How  his  friend 
encouraged  him  we  shall  see  presently. 

"  Those  fellows  will  be  up  to  some  sort  of  mis- 
chief before  we  see  the  last  of  them,"  observed 
Curtis,  after  he  had  taken  a  good  look  at  the 
schooner. 

"That  is  my  opinion?"  said  Egan,  "and  I  be- 


32  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

lieve  that  Enoch  has  been  up  to  something  already. 
I  don't  know  it  to  be  a  foot,  but  still  I  am  pretty 
certain  that  he  is  hail  fellow  well  met  with  these 
big  gunners,  and  if  he  is,  he  will  bear  watching." 

"  What  is  that  long  black  streak  out  there  on 
the  water  ?  "  asked  Bert,  suddenly. 

Egan  looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and  a 
moment  later  the  Sallie  came  up  into  the  wind, 
then  filled  away  on  the  other  tack  and  started 
back  up  the  bay. 

"  That  is  a  bed  of  ducks,"  said  the  skipper.  "  I 
shouldn't  wonder  if  there  were  thousands  in  it. 
They  are  only  a  short  distance  from  the  foot  of 
Powell's  Island,  and  it  will  be  no  trouble  at 
all  to  toll  them  in  so  that  we  can  get  a  shot  at 
them." 

"  Well,"  said  Bert,  when  Egan  paused,  "  we 
should  like  to  be  told  what  tolling  is." 

"  I  would  rather  show  you  than  try  to  explain 
it  to  you/1  was  the  reply.  "  The  only  way  to  find 
out  is  to  see  for  yourself." 

The  Sallie  kept  on  up  the  bay  until  she  came 
opposite  to  the  cabin  of  the  old  terrapin-hunter, 
who  at  once  responded  to  Egan's  lusty  hail. 

"  I  want  to  borrow  Bogus  for  a  little  while," 


THE   MAN   IN    THE   SINK-BOAT.  33 

shouted  the  skipper.  "And  I  say,  Eph,  bring 
out  a  lot  of  chips  with  you." 

The  negro  disappeared  behind  his  cabin,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  came  back  again,  carrying  his  hat 
in  his  hands,  and  followed  by  a  little  yellow  dog. 
The  two  got  into  the  canoe,  and  presently  both 
the  dog  and  the  hatful  of  chips  were  deposited  on 
the  yacht's  deck. 

"  There  is  a  big  bed  of  ducks  off  Powell's  Isl- 
and, and  wo  are  going  to  shoot  some  of  them," 
said  Egan.  "  So,  perhaps,  you  had  better  post- 
pone the  cooking  of  those  terrapin  until  about 
three  o'clock.  Be  sure  and  have  them  ready  then, 
for  we  shall  be  hungry." 

The  old  negro  went  ashore,  leaving  his  dog  and 
the  pile  of  chips  behind  him  ;  and  the  yacht  came 
about  and  started  down  the  bay  again.  She  held 
straight  for  the  head  of  the  island,  and,  running 
into  a  little  bay  thickly  lined  with  trees  on  both 
sides,  was  tied  up  to  an  abrupt  bank  where  the 
water  was  deep  enough  to  float  her.  Bogus 
seemed  to  know  just  what  he  was  expected  to  do  ; 
for  when  the  boys,  having  buckled  on  their  car- 
tridge-belts, shouldered  their  guns  and  stepped 
ashore,  he  took  up  his  position  at  Egan's  heels, 


34  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  stayed  there  until  lie  was  sent  out  to  perform 
his  allotted  part  in  tolling  the  ducks. 

The  young  wild-fowlers,  led  by  Egan,  directed 
their  course  toward  a  sheltered  cove  on  the  other 
side  of  the  island,  and  were  presently  crawling  on 
their  hands  and  knees  through  the  calamus  and 
dry  marsh  grass  which  formed  a  good  cover  almost 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  bay  seemed  to  be  full 
of  ducks.  None  of  the  visitors,  except  Hopkins, 
had  ever  seen  so  many  in  one  flock  before,  and 
they  were  greatly  disappointed  to  discover  that 
they  were  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  heaviest 
gun  in  the  party.  Indeed,  it  would  have  required 
a  good  rifle  to  throw  a  ball  into  the  midst  of  them, 
and  the  course  they  were  following  was  taking 
them  farther  away  from  the  island  every  moment. 

"  We  shall  get  no  ducks  out  of  that  flock,"  said 
Don. 

'•  Then  it  will  be  your  fault,"  replied  Egan,  con- 
fidently. "  If  you  will  do  good  work  after  I  bring 
them  within  range,  we  will  have  canvas-backs  for 
dinner  to-morrow.  Now,  Bogus,  let's  see  how 
smart  you  are." 

Egan  had  brought  the  chips  with  him  in  a 
game-bag.  As  he  spoke,  he  took  one  of  them  out 


THE   MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT.  35 

and  tossed  it  into  the  water,  whereupon  Bogus 
jumped  to  his  feet  and  skipped  in  after  it.  He 
seized  the  chip,  tossed  it  into  the  air,  caught  it 
when  it  descended,  and  played  with  it  with  as 
much  apparent  delight  as  a  cat  plays  with  a  ball 
of  yarn ;  the  visitors  watching  his  antics  with  the 
greatest  surprise. 

"  You  have  read  of  the  curiosity  exhibited  by 
the  antelope  of  the  Western  plains — how  hunters 
have  been  known  to  decoy  them  within  gun-shot 
by  simply  waving  a  colored  handkerchief  above 
the  grass,  have  you  not  ?  "  said  Egan,  by  way  of 
explanation.  "  Well,  the  canvas-back  has  just  as 
much  curiosity,  as  you  can  see  for  yourselves." 

The  boys,  whose  attention  had  been  fully  occu- 
pied by  the  extraordinary  performances  of  the 
dog,  now  turned  their  eyes  toward  the  flock,  and 
were  astonished  as  well  as  gratified  to  observe 
that  a  few  of  them  had  left  the  main  body  and 
were  coming  slowly  toward  the  shore.  Even  at 
that  distance  one  could  see  that  they  were  at- 
tracted by,  and  interested  in,  the  actions  of  the 
dog.  Presently,  other  ducks  came  out  of  the  bed 
and  joined  them  ;  then  a  second  and  larger  body 
appeared,  and,  what  was  very  surprising  to  the 


36  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

visitors,  they  betrayed  the  greatest  excitement. 
They  would  sit  up  in  the  water,  sustaining  them- 
selves by  the  help  of  their  wings,  and  then  settle 
down  and  swim  swiftly  about,  performing  the 
most  intricate  maneuvres. 

"  Easy,  boys/'  whispered  Egan,  as  Curtis  raised 
his  head  to  obtain  a  better  view  of  the  approach- 
ing flock.  "  1C  you  want  to  get  a  shot,  you  must 
not  show  so  much  as  an  inch  of  the  top  of  your 
hat.  They've  got  sharp  eyes  ;  and  that  is  what 
makes  them  so  easy  to  toll.  If  they  were  not 
constantly  on  the  watch,  they  would  not  have 
seen  the  dog." 

When  Bogus  grew  tired  of  playing  with  the 
first  chip  Egan  threw  out  to  him,  the  boy  tossed 
him  another.  The  intelligent  and  well-trained 
animal  did  not  act  as  though  he  saw  the  ducks  at 
all ;  but  it  was  evident  that  he  knew  they  were 
coming,  for  the  nearer  they  approached  the  shore 
the  more  energetically  he  played.  He  never  ut- 
tered the  faintest  whimper,  but  kept  silently  to 
his  \vork  ;  and  the  ducks,  growing  bolder  as  their 
number  increased,  approached  with  more  rapidity 
and  confidence,  showing  by  their  actions  the  live- 
liest curiosity. 


THE   MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT.  37 

"  Now  watch  them  closely,  and  I  will  show  you 
something  else/'  whispered  Egan.  As  he  spoke, 
he  began  throwing  the  chips  first  to  the  right  and 
then  to  the  left  of  his  place  of  concealment,  and 
as  the  dog  ran  from  one  to  the  other,  the  ducks 
turned  also,  closely  following  all  his  movements 
as  if  they  feared  that  they  might  lose  the  most 
interesting  part  of  the  performance.  When  those 
in  front  thought  they  had  come  near  enough,  and 
showed  a  disposition  to  stop,  their  companions 
behind  pushed  them  on,  wh^le  the  ducks  in  the 
rear  came  crowding  through  to  inquire  into  the 
matter. 

By  this  time  the  dog  had  an  interested  audience 
of  at  least  five  or  six  hundred  ducks  in  front  of 
him,  and  not  more  than  seventy-five  yards  from 
the  shore.  They  were  coming  nearer  all  the  while, 
and,  finally,  Egan  reached  for  his  double-barrel ; 
but,  just  at  that  moment,  the  whole  immense 
flock  arose  as  one  duck,  with  a  great  roaring  of 
wings  and  splashing  of  water,  and  flew  swiftly 
down  the  bay. 

"  Which  one  of  you  fellows  showed  his  head  ?  '' 
demanded  Egan,  laughing  heartily  at  the  expres- 
sion of  disappointment  and  chagrin  he  saw  on  the 


38  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

faces  of  every  one  of  his  companions.  "  The  next 
time  we  try  to  toll  a  flock  of  canvas-Lacks,  re- 
member what  I  told  you  about  their  sharp  eyes, 
and  be  careful  to  keep  out  of  sight.  Look  at  Bo- 
gus !  He  thinks  he  was  to  blame  for  it,  and  he 
expects  a  whipping." 

The  boys  glanced  toward  the  beach,  and  there 
was  the  dog  which  had  done  his  part  of  the  work 
so  faithfully,  going  through  all  sorts  of  antics,  and 
saying,  as  plainly  as  a  dumb  brute  could  say  it, 
that  he  was  very  sorry  the  flock  had  gone  off 
without  giving  the  young  hunters  a  chance  for  a 
shot,  and  that,  if  it  were  his  fault,  he  would  be 
careful  to  do  better  next  time.  First,  he  would 
sit  up  and  beg,  and  then  he  would  lie  down  and 
hold  up  both  his  paws  imploringly,  as  if  he  were 
trying  to  ward  off  the  blows  of  a  switch ;  but  a 
friendly  word  from  Egan  dispelled  all  his  fears, 
and  made  a  happy,  light-hearted  dog  of  him 
again. 

"  You  didn't  do  it,  old  fellow,"  said  the  boy,  as 
Bogus  came  bounding  to  his  side ;  "  and  I  can't 
think  what  did  do  it,  unless  one  of  these  careless 

friends  of  mine Hold  on  !  I  take  it  all  back. 

There's  the  cause  of  the  trouble,"  added  Egan, 


THE    MAN   IN   THE    SINK-BOAT.  39 

nodding  his  head  toward  the  upper  end  of  the 
bay. 

The  others  looked  in  the  direction  indicated, 
and  saw  Enoch  Williams'  schooner  'coming  down 
under  full  sail.  Whether  or  not  her  crew  knew 
that  Egan  and  his  companions  were  trying  to  toll 
the  ducks  within  gun  shot,  was  a  question  ;  but 
they  knew  it  a  moment  after  they  hove  in  sight, 
for  the  young  hunters  arose  from  their  places  of 
concealment,  and  stood  out  in  full  view  of  the 
schooner,  which  ran  down  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the 
island,  and  then  came  about,  and  started  back  up 
the  bay. 

"  That  move  seems  to  indicate  that  they  knew 
we  were  here,  and  that  they  came  down  on  pur- 
pose to  frighten  the  ducks  away,"  said  Hopkins, 
with  no  little  indignation  in  his  tones. 

"  What  else  could  you  expect  of  such  fellows 
as  they  are  ?  "  demanded  Egan.  "  Never  mind. 
There  is  more  than  one  flock  of  canvas-backs  on 
the  bay,  and  they  can't  drive  them  all  away  from 
us,  no  matter  how  hard  they  try.  Now,  we  will 
take  a  short  sail,  and  then  we  will  run  back  to 
Eph's,  and  get  our  terrapin." 

As  it  happened,  Hopkins  and  Egan  were  both 


40  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

mistaken  in  their  opinions  regarding  the  object 
the  schooner's  company  had  in  view  when  they 
followed  the  Sallie  down  to  Powell's  Island. 
Enoch  and  Jones  had  an  idea  in  their  heads,  but 
they  did  not  know  that  Egan  and  his  friends  were 
after  the  ducks  until  they  saw  them  rise  from 
their  hiding-places.  They  were  acting  as  volun- 
teer spies  upon  the  movements  of  Egan  and  his 
guests,  and  if  we  step  aboard  the  schooner,  and 
listen  to  some  of  the  conversation  that  took  place 
between  Enoch  and  his  two  companions,  we  may 
be  able  to  understand  why  they  did  it. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Egan  and  his  guests 
had  got  into  the  way  of  spending  a  portion  of 
their  vacations  at  one  another's  homes,  the  first 
being  spent  in  Mississippi.  When  Lester  Brig- 
ham  saw  how  they  enjoyed  themselves  at  DON 
GORDON'S  SHOOTING-BOX,  he  proposed  to  his 
friends,  Enoch  and  Jones,  that  they  should  pass 
their  vacations  in  the  same  way  ;  and  so  it  came 
about  that  while  Egan,  Hopkins,  and  Don  and 
Bert  Gordon  were  hunting  and  fishing  with  Curtis 
in  the  wilds  of  Maine,  Lester's  Maryland  friends 
were  visiting  with  him  at  his  home  near  Koch- 
dale.  It  was  not  accident  that  had  brought  them 


THE   MAN   IN    THE   SINK-BOAT.  41 

all  together  in  Maryland  during  this  particular 
vacation.  Lester  had  come  there  with  a  fully 
developed  plan  in  his  head,  and  Enoch  and  Jones 
were  ready  and  eager  to  help  him  carry  it  out. 
Lester  and  Jones  had  been  at  Enoch's  home  two 
weeks,  impatiently  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Egan's 
guests,  who,  as  we  have  said,  were  sojourning 
with  Hopkins,  enjoying  themselves  in  shooting 
quails  and  snipes.  On  the  morning  of  which  we 
write  they  went  out  for  a  sail  on  the  bay  before 
breakfast,  and  it  was  while  they  were  on  their 
way  home  that  their  eyes  were  gladdened  by  the 
sight  of  the  Sallie  under  sail. 

"  There  they  are  at  last ! "  exclaimed  Eno'ch, 
who  was  the  first  to  discover  Egan's  boat  as  she 
moved  gracefully  away  from  her  anchorage.  He 
was  standing  at  the  helm  of  his  schooner,  the 
Firefly,  and  Lester  and  Jones  were  sitting  near 
him  in  the  cock-pit. 

"  They  ?  Who  ?  "  inquired  the  former,  who, 
for  a  wonder^  happened  to  be  thinking  about 
something  besides  his  contemplated  revenge  on  the 
boys  who  had  unintentionally  excited  his  jealousy. 

"  Why,  your  particular  friends,  the  Gordon 
boys." 


42  THE   YOTJXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Lester.  "I  wonder  if 
they  are  all  there." 

"•  If  you  will  run  down  and  get  the  spy-glass 
you  can  soon  find  out,"  was  the  reply. 

The  glass  was  brought,  passed  rapidly  from 
hand  to  hand,  and  then  the  three  plotters  looked 
at  one  another  while  a  smile  of  triumph  lighted 
up  their  faces.  They  saw  the  Sallie  frighten  away 
the  ducks  that  were  about  to  swing  to  the  decoys 
that  were  anchored  around  the  sink-boat,  and 
Enoch  and  Jones  were  so  delighted  when  they  saw 
the  occupant  of  the  boat  rise  up  and  flourish  his 
fists  in  the  air,  that  they  could  scarcely  refrain 
from  shouting. 

"They  have  got  themselves  into  trouble  al- 
ready," said  Enoch,  as  he  brought  the  glass  to 
bear  upon  the  angry  gunner.  "  That  man  in  the 
sink-boat  is  Amos  Barr.  They  have  made  him 
mad  by  scaring  away  his  ducks,  and  I  am  glad  of 
it,  for  he  is  one  of  the  most  vindictive  men  on  the 
Hay." 

We  have  already  told  how  the  two  yachts 
passed  each  other  without  any  exchange  of  cour- 
tesies between  the  crews.  The  Firefly  ran  be- 
tween the  decoys  and  the  shore  and  was  thrown 


THE   MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT.  43 

up  into  the  wind,  so  that  her  skipper  could  talk 
to  the  man  in  the  sink-boat. 

.  "  Good  morning,  Mr.  Barr,"  said  Enoch,  pleas- 
antly. "Egan  came  along  just  at  the  wrong 
time,  didn't  he  ?  " 

"  He  is  always  around  when  he  ain't  wanted, 
and  I  told  him  so,"  was  the  gruff  response. 

"  Do  you  believe  it  is  all  unintentional  on  his 
part  ?  "  asked  Jones,  in  a  significant  tone. 
"  Don't  you  think  that  he  does  it  on  purpose — 
that  he  is  just  snooping  around  to  see  what  he 
can  find  that  is  worth  looking  at  ?  " 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  Barr,  shaking  his 
clenched  hand  at  the  rapidly  receding  cutter. 
"  When  he  told  that  detective  that  I  was  a  duck- 
shooter,  and  that  I  and  my  partners  had  a  big 
gun  hid  somewhere  about  the  bay,  didn't  he  do 
it  a  purpose  ?  Of  course  he  did.  He  wanted  to 
get  me  into  trouble  ;  but  he  wasn't  by  no  means 
as  smart  as  he  thought  he  was.  We  had  more  'n 
one  big  gun,  me  and  my  partners  did,  and — by 
the  way,  did  you  know  that  we  had  got  our  best 
gun  back-?  " 

"  No ! "  replied  Enoch,  who  was  surprised  to 
hear  it. 


44  THE    YOTTXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Well,  we've  got  it  safe  and  sound,  and  if  one 
of  them  detectives  ever  gets  a  chance  to  put  an 
ugly  hand  on  it  again,  I'm  a  Dutchman.  Simp- 
son, he — but  I  don't  reckon  I  had  best  say  any 
more/'  said  Barr,  with  a  hasty,  suspicious  glance 
at  Lester. 

"  0,  you  need  not  be  afraid  of  my  friend  Brig- 
ham,"  exclaimed  Enoch.  "  He  is  true  blue,  and 
he  hates  Egan  and  all  his  crowd  as  cordially  as 
Jones  and  I  do.  What  about  Simpson  ?  " 

"  Mebbe  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  some  other 
time,"  answered  Barr,  cautiously.  "  'Tain't  best 
to  say  too  much  to  nobody  these  times." 

"  I  know  that.  Those  e  gentlemen  sportsmen ' 
(Enoch  sneered  as  he  uttered  the  words),  who 
live  up  north,  and  rent  some  of  our  shooting- 
points,  are  bound  to  break  up  your  business  if 
they  can." 

"And  how  would  they  feel  if  we-uns  should  go 
up  where  they  live,  and  set  about  breaking  up 
their  business — should  try  to  take  the  bread  out 
of  the  mouths  of  their  children  ? "  exclaimed 
Barr,  in  savage  tones.  "  The  birds  we  shoot 
bring  we-uns  in  our  grub  and  clothes.  Being 
wild,  they  don't  belong  to  nobody ;  but  they 


THE    MAN   IN   THE   SINK-BOAT.  45 

belong  to  we-uns  who  live  here,  more  'n  they  do 
to  folks  who  don't  live  here,  and  we  have  a  right 
to  get  'era  in  any  way  we  can.  Them  fellers  up 
north  can't  break  up  our  business,  for  we  won't 
let  'em  ;  an'  as  for  the  folks  who  live  round  here 
and  tries  to  help  'em  do  it — " 

"  Fellows  like  Gus  Egan,  for  instance,"  inter- 
rupted Enoch. 

"  Yes,  he  is  one  of  the  worst  in  the  lot  of  the 
mean  fellers  that  won't  let  us  shoot  the  ducks 
because  they  want  to  shoot  them  theirselves," 
assented  Barr.  "As  for  him,  and  others  like 
him,  that  I  could  call  by  name  if  -I  wanted  to, 
they  are  getting  theirselves  deeper  and  deeper  into 
a  furse  every  day.  Something's  going  to  happen 
if  them  detectives  comes  down  here  this  season. 
You  hear  me  speaking  to  you  ?  " 

As  Barr  said  this,  he  played  with  the  lock  of 
his  heavy  duck- gun,  and  looked  very  fierce  in- 
deed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BARB'S     BIG     GUN. 

"  T  DON'T  blame  you  for  being  angry,"  said 
Jones,  after  a  few  minutes'  pause.  "  I  hold 
as  you  do,  Mr.  Barr — that  the  wild-fowl  which 
come  into  this  bay  are  the  property  of  any  one 
who  can  bring  them  to  bag ;  and  that  men  who 
live  hundreds  of  miles  away,  who  come  here  only 
once  a  year,  and  for  a  few  days  at  a  time,  are  tak- 
ing a  good  deal  upon  themselves  when  they  pre- 
sume to  tell  us  how  these  wild  birds  shall  be 
killed.  Those  '  gentlemen  sportsmen,'  as  Enoch 
calls  them,  have  no  right  to  make  laws  for  my 
government,  and  I  shall  pay  no  attention  to 
them." 

"No  more  will  I,"  said  Barr,  emphatically. 
"  But  I  bet  you  I  will  pay  some  attention  to  the 
fellers  about  here  who  are  mean  enough  to  side 
with  them  and  the  detectives." 


BARK'S   BIG   GUN.  47 

"  Was  that  you  shooting  last  night  ?  "  asked 
Enoch,  suddenl}r. 

"I  didn't  hear  no  shooting  last  night,"  an- 
swered Barr,  with  another  sidelong  glance  at 
Lester. 

"  You  have  grown  very  suspicious  since  I  saw 
you  last,"  said  Enoch,  with  some  impatience  in 
his  tones.  "  But  I  tell  you  that  you  need  not  be 
afraid  to  trust  me  or  any  one  whom  I  endorse. 
We  all  heard  a  big  gun  shortly  after  midnight, 
and  I'll  bet  my  schooner  against  your  sink-boat, 
that  if  I  were  to  look  along  the  shores  of  Powell's 
Island,  I  could  find  the  gun." 

Barr  grinned,  but  made  no  reply. 

"  When  are  you  going  out  again  ?  "  continued 
,  Enoch. 

.  "  Well,  that  depends,"  said  the  gunner,  hesi- 
tatingly. "  If  I  see  nothing  suspicious,  I  may  go 
out  the  fore  part  of  next  week." 

"  When  you  go,  remember  that  we  three  want 
to  go  with  you,"  added  Enoch.  "  This  fellow  "— 
jerking  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder  towards 
Lester  Brigham  " — is  my  chum  and  Jones's.  He 
lives  way  down  in  Mississippi,  and  has  never  seen 
a  big  gun.  We  passed  a  portion  of  our  last  vaca- 


48  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

tion  at  his  father's  house,  and  as  Lester  took  pains 
to  show  us  every  thing  of  interest  there  was  to  be 
seen  in  that  part  of  the  country,  we  desire  to 
reciprocate  his  kindness.  You  will  let  us  know 
when  you  are  going  out,  won't  you  ?  Hallo  ! 
What  is  the  Sallie  doing  back  here  ?  I  thought 
she  went  on  down  the  bay." 

So  she  did  ;  but  when  Bert  discovered  that  im- 
mense bed  of  canvas-backs  off  Powell's  island, 
the  skipper  ran  back  to  old  Eph's  cabin  after  his 
dog  to  entice  the  wild  fowl  within  range.  When 
Enoch  saw  her,  she  was  just  rounding  to  in  readi- 
ness to  start  down  the  bay  again.  He  and  the 
rest  watched  her  until  she  disappeared  in  the  cove 
at  the  head  of  the  island,  and  then  to  quote  from 
Lester  Brigham,  Barr  swore  until  every  thing 
around  him  turned  blue. 

"  Aha  !  "  cried  Enoch,  and  there  was  a  trium- 
phant ring  in  his  voice.  "  Didn't  I  say  that  that 
big  gun  we  heard  last  night  was  somewhere 
around  the  island  ?  If  you  think  I  can  be  of 
any  service  to  you,  I  will  run  down  there  and  keep 
an  eye  on  them.  Of  course  they  don't  know  that 
the  gun  is  there,  but  if  you  go  down,  they  will 
suspect  it." 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  49 

"  All  right,"  said  Barr,  in  tones  that  were  husky 
with  passion.  "  Go  on,  and  I  will  do  you  a  friendly 
act  the  first  chance  I  get." 

"  Will  you  let  us  go  out  with  you  the  next  time 
you  use  the  big  gun  ?  "  inquired  Enoch,  as  he  put 
the  helm  down  and  motioned  to  Jones  to  haul  in  a 
little  on  the  jib  sheets. 

"  Yes,  I  will ;  honor  bright,"  answered  Barr, 
eagerly.  "Say,  Enoch,  the  gun  is  hid  in  the 
bushes  on  the  banks  of  that  little  cove  on  the 
other  side  of  the  island.  You  just  hang  around 
and  see  whether  or  not  they  stumble  on  to  it,  and 
if  they  do,  let  me  know  it  at  once.  I  will  put  it 
in  a  safer  place  before  I  go  home  to-night.  I  see 
one  of  my  partners  down  there  in  his  canoe.  I 
wish  you  would  hail  him  as  you  go  by  and  tell 
him  to  come  up  here.  I  may  need  him." 

The  Firefly  ran  up  the  bay  until  she  cleared  the 
decoys,  and  then  rounding  to,  filled  away  for 
Powell's  Island.  Her  captain  seemed  to  be  in  a 
very  jovial  mood. 

"  Didn't  we  promise  that  we  would  help  you 
square  yards  with  those  fellows  ?  "  said  he,  address- 
ing himself  to  Lester.1  "  I  wouldn't  like  to  be  in  their 
boots  if  they  find  that  gun  ;  would  you,  Jones  ?  " 
3 


50  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  No,  indeed,"  was  the  quick  reply.  "  Barr  is 
just  on  the  point  of  boiling  over  already,  and  he 
won't  stand  much  more  interference  with  his 
business." 

"What  do  you  think  he  would  do  to  Egan  if 
he  and  his  crowd  should  find  that  big  gun  and 
take  possession  of  it  ?  "  asked  Lester. 

"0,  Egan  would  not  dare  do  that,"  answered 
Jones.  "  He  has  no  more  right  to  touch  that  big 
gun  than  he  has  to  take  charge  of  this  schooner. 
The  most  he  could  do  would  be  to  tell  an  officer 
where  the  gun  was  hidden,  and  if  he  did  that, 
Barr  would  improve  the  very  first  opportunity 
he  got  to  destroy  some  property  for  him  or  his 
father." 

"But  how  would  that  help  me  square  yards 
with  Don  and  Bert  ?  "  inquired  Lester.  "  I  don't 
like  Egan,  because  he  is  Don's  friend  ;  but  still  I 
don't  care  to  see  him  injured." 

"Well,  I  do,"  said  Enoch,  spitefully.  "I 
haven't  forgotten  how  squarely  he  went  back  on 
me  during  my  first  day  at  the  academy.  There  I 
was,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  place,  and  he  wouldn't 
introduce  me  to  a  single  student ;  and  when  he 
walked  off  toward  the  gate  with  some  of  his  chums, 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  51 

he  told  me  to  stay  behind  because  he  did  not  want 
me  along.  Do  you  think  I  shall  ever  forget  that  ? 
Not  much." 

"  It  seems  that  Barr  has  got  his  big  gun  back 
again,"  said  Jones.  "  I  mean  the  one  the  detec- 
tives found  on  information  furnished  them  by  Gus 
Egan." 

"I  am  not  at  all  surprised  to  hear  it,"  replied 
Enoch.  "  You  see,"  he  added,  turning  to  Lester, 
"  this  man  Simpson,  of  whom  Barr  spoke,  is  a  local 
detective,  who  has  long  been  suspected  of  being  in 
sympathy  with  the  big  gunners  ;  and  you  know 
Barr  hinted  that  it  was  through  him  that  he  got 
his  big  gun  back.  The  detectives  often  play  into 
one  another's  hands,  and  I  believe  that  for  a  hun- 
dred dollars  Simpson  could  be  bribed  to  do  almost 
anything.  Look  there,  Brigham  !  Did  you  ever 
see  such  a  sight  before  ?  " 

Up  to  this  time  the  Firefly  had  been  kept 
behind  the  island,  so  that  her  approach  would  not 
be  detected  by  the  boys  whom  Enoch  intended  to 
watch  ;  but  now  she  was  obliged  to  stand  out  into 
the  bay,  and,  as  she  rounded  the  headland,  Enoch 
caught  sight  of  the  flock  of  canvas-backs  which 
old  Eph's  dog  was  tolling  in  toward  the  beach. 


52  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  No,  I  never  saw  so  many  ducks  in  one  flock 
before,"  replied  Lester,  as  soon  as  he  had  some- 
what recovered  from  his  surprise.  "Why,  Dia- 
mond Lake  would  hardly  hold  them.  Don't  those 
look  like  heads  over  there  in  the  grass  ?  "  he  added, 
directing  Enoch's  attention  toward  the  cove  where 
the  young  wild-fowlers  were  concealed. 

"They  are  heads,"  said  Jones,  after  he  had 
taken  a  look  at  the  objects  through  the  spy -glass. 
"  They  were  tolling  that  flock,  and  we  came  up 
just  in  time  to  spoil  their  sport  for  them." 

"If  I  could  have  my  way,  they  would  never 
have  the  pleasure  of  shooting  a  wild  duck  or  any- 
thing else  as  long  as  they  live,"  snapped  Lester. 

"We  have  found  them,"  said  Enoch.  "Now 
we  will  sail  around,  far  enough  from  the  shore  to 
avoid  arousing  their  suspicions,  and  keep  an  eye 
on  their  movements  through  the  glass.  Barr's  big 
gun  is  hidden  somewhere  near  that  cove,  you 
know." 

Enoch  kept  on  down  the  bay  without  one  word 
of  apology  to  the  boys  on  shore  for  frightening 
away  the  ducks,  while  Jones,  at  his  suggestion, 
settled  himself  down  on  a  cushion  in  the  cock-pit 
to  observe  and  report  upon  the  actions  of  Egan 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  53 

and  his  party.  The  latter,  all  unconscious  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  being  closely  watched,  strolled 
leisurely  along  the  shore  of  the  cove  in  the  hope  of 
picking  up  a  few  brace  of  snipes  for  their  next 
morning's  breakfast ;  and  although  they  did  not 
find  the  game  for  which  they  were  looking,  they 
found  something  else  for  which  they  were  not 
looking.  Jones,  through  the  glass,  saw  them  stop 
all  on  a  sudden,  and  bend  down  until  their  heads 
disappeared  from  view.  They  were  out  of  sight 
for  a  long  time,  and  when  they  again  arose  to  an 
upright  position,  three  of  them  were  tugging  and 
lifting  at  something  which  seemed  to  be  about  as 
heavy  as  they  could  manage  with  their  united 
strength.  When  Jones  saw  that,  he  uttered  a 
loud  ejaculation  of  astonishment. 

"Enoch,"  he  exclaimed,  "give  me  the  tiller 
and  you  take  the  glass  —  quick.  Those  fellows 
have  found  it,  or  else  I  am  very  much  mis- 
taken." 

Enoch  seized  the  glass,  and  one  look  was  all 
that  was  needed  to  show  him  that  the  sharp-eyed 
young  hunters  had  unearthed  the  poacher's  hidden 
treasure. 

"It  is  Barr's  big  gun,  sure  enough,''  said  he. 


54  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  They  are  trying  to  stand  it  up  on  end  so  that 
they  can  take  a  good  look  at  it." 

"  One  would  think,  from  the  way  you  talk,  that 
you  were  glad  of  it,"  observed  Lester. 

"  And  so  I  am,"  answered  Enoch,  gleefully,  as 
he  passed  the  glass  over  to  Lester  and  resumed  his 
place  at  the  tiller.  "Do  you  not  see  that  Barr 
will  be  awful  mad  when  we  tell  him  of  it,  and  that 
he  will  do  something  to  pay  Egan  for  snooping 
around  in  this  way  ?  Now  we  will  run  up  to  his 
sink-boat  and  see  what  he  is  going  to  do  about  it." 

"  By  gracious,  Enoch  ! "  exclaimed  Jones,  sud- 
denly. "Just  look  at  that,  will  you  ?  " 

"Whew  ! "  whistled  the  skipper.  "It  is  all  up 
with  the  big  gun  now.  Barr  has  seen  it  for  the 
last  time." 

Lester  looked  down  the  bay  in  the  direction  in 
which  his  two  companions  were  gazing,  but  could 
discover  nothing  to  call  forth  that  long-drawn 
whistle  of  surprise  from  Enoch.  All  he  could  see 
were  a  few  oyster  and  pleasure  boats,  and  a  neat 
little  steamer,  which  was  coming  up  with  a  heavy 
bone  in  her  teeth. 

"That  is  a  police  boat,"  explained  Enoch, 
noticing  the  inquiring  look  on  Lester's  face. 


BAKU'S  BIG  GUN.  55 

"  They  run  around  night  and  day  searching  for 
illegal  duck-shooters  and  oyster-dredgers.  What 
is  the  matter  now,  Jones?"  he  added,  as  his 
companion  uttered  another  exclamation  of  sur- 
prise. 

Jones  did  not  reply  until  he  had  snatched  the 
glass  from  Lester's  hand  and  taken  a  long  look  at 
the  boys  on  shore  ;  then  he  said  slowly  : 

"  Egan  is  signaling  to  the  police-boat  to  come 
in  and  get  the  gun,  as  sure  as  I'm  a  foot  high." 

"  No  !  "  cried  Enoch,  who  thought  the  news  too 
good  to  be  true.  He  wanted  Egan  and  his  friends 
to  do  all  the  mischief  they  could,  so  that  he  would 
have  an  exasperating  report  to  make  to  Barr  when 
he  went  back  to  the  sink-boat. 

"  But  I  say  he  is,"  insisted  Jones.  "  I  can  see 
him  waving  his  hat.  There  !  do  you  believe  it 
now  ? "  he  continued,  as  the  steamer  gave  one 
short,  quick  toot  on  her  whistle  to  show  that 
Egan's  signal  was  seen  and  understood. 

Yes,  Enoch  believed  it  now  ;  especially,  when 
he  saw  the  police-boat  turn  her  bow  toward  the 
cove.  She  ran  as  close  to  the  shore  as  the  depth 
of  the  water  would  permit,  then  rang  her  stopping 
bell,  and  presently  Jones  announced  that  the  crew 


56  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

were   putting   one   of  the   small   boats   into  the 
water. 

"  I  tell  you  Barr  has  seen  that  big  gun  for  the 
last  time/'  repeated  Enoch.  "  He  may  be  able  to 
bribe  a  private  detective  ;  but  the  State  authori- 
ties, as  a  general  thing,  don't  do  business  that 
way.  Won't  Barr  be  hopping  when  he  finds  it 
out  ?  We  can't  do  any  thing  to  save  the  gun, 
and  neither  can  he ;  so  we  might  as  well  run 
down  there  and  look  on." 

The  Firefly  came  about  and  bore  down  toward 
the  cove,  running  in  between  the  steamer  and  the 
shore  so  that  her  crew  could  make  a  note  of  every 
thing  that  was  done  by  the  police,  and  perhaps 
overhear  some  of  the  conversation  that  took  place 
between  them  and  the  young  wild-fowlers  ;  but 
in  this  last  hope  they  were  disappointed.  More 
than  that,  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  discovering 
that  they  were  suspected  of  something  themselves. 
For,  when  one  of  the  officers  who  went  off  in  the 
small  boat  began  talking  in  rather  a  loud  voice, 
Egan  said  a  word  or  two  to  him  in  a  low  tone  ; 
whereupon  the  officers  faced  about,  and  stared  so 
fixedly  at  the  schooner's  crew,  that  the  latter  be- 
gan to  feel  uneasy.  But  they  saw  the  big  gun 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  57 

put  into  the  boat,  and  then  the  Firefly  filled  away 
and  stood  up  the  bay  again. 

"  Great  Scott  ! "  exclaimed  Lester,  when  they 
were  fairly  under  way  ;  "I  never  saw  a  gun  like 
that  before.  How  long  is  it,  and  how  much  do 
you  suppose  it  weighs  ?  " 

"  It  is  ten  feet  long,  and  weighs  a  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds,"  snarled  Enoch,  who  was  fully  as 
angry  as  he  expected  Barr  to  be  when  he  heard 
the  report  they  had  to  make.  "  Say,  Jones,  did 
you  notice  how  quickly  those  officers  stopped 
talking,  and  how  hard  they  looked  at  us  when 
Egan  spoke  to  them  ?  " 

"  I  did,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  and  it  struck  me  at 
once  that  he  was  telling  them  something  that  he 
would  not  dare  say  to  our  faces." 

"  That  was,  and  still  is,  my  opinion,"  continued 
Enoch.  "Now,  the  only  way  we  can  get  even 
with  him  for  that  is  to  make  out  as  bad  a  case 
against  him  as  we  can  when  we  report  to  Barr." 

"  Why  can't  you  take  his  punishment  into  your 
own  hands  ?  "  inquired  Lester.  "  You  can  do  as 
much  damage  as  you  please,  and  unless  you  are 
surprised  and  caught  in  the  act,  it  will  all  be  laid 
to  Barr's  account." 


58  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"I  say,"  exclaimed  Enoch,  gazing  admiringly  at 
Lester,  "your  head  is  level  yet,  isn't  it  ?  That  is 
a  proposition  worth  thinking  and  talking  ahout  at 
some  future  time.  Now,  then,  here  we  are." 

The  Firefly  was  by  this  time  almost  within 
hailing  distance  of  the  sink-boat.  She  had  two 
occupants  now,  for  the  "  partner "  of  whom  Barr 
had  spoken,  and  who  had  been  hailed  by  Enoch 
and  sent  up  to  the  sink-boat,  had  pushed  his  canoe 
through  the  decoys,  and  was  talking  earnestly 
with  his  companion  in  guilt,  while  waiting  for  the 
captain  of  the  schooner  to  come  back  and  make 
his  report. 

"Now,  then,"  exclaimed  Barr,  as  soon  as  he 
could  make  himself  heard,  "  is  your  news  good  or 
bad  ?  " 

"  Bad  enough,"  was  Enoch's  reply.  "  The  Mag- 
pie sent  a  boat  ashore  and  gobbled  up  that  big 
gun  of  yours." 

The  "partner"  looked  incredulous,  but  Burr 
saw  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  report. 
He  jumped  to  his  feet  with  so  sudden  and  strong 
an  impulse  that  he  came  within  a  hair's  breadth 
of  losing  his  balance  and  going  headlong  out  of 
the  sink-boat ;  and  when  he  had  recovered  his 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  59 

perpendicular,  he  found  relief  for  his  feelings  in  a 
volley  of  the  heaviest  kind  of  oaths.  If  swear- 
words could  have  sunk  the  Magpie  (that  was  the 
name  of  the  police-boat),  the  officers  who  captured 
his  big  gun  never  would  have  seen  Baltimore 
again. 

"  You  needn't  bear  down  so  heavy  on  the  police," 
said  Enoch,  as  soon  as  he  saw  a  chance  to  crowd  a 
word  in  edge-wise,  "for  they  would  not  have  known 
that  the  big  gun  was  there,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
that  meddlesome  fellow  who  took  it  upon  himself 
to  play  the  spy  upon  your  actions  last  season." 

"  You  mean  Gus  Egan  ?  "  said  Barr,  inquiringly. 

"  He  is  the  very  chap,"  replied  Enoch.  "  We 
found  him  and  his  party,  which  is  made  up  of  boys 
as  mean  as  he  is,  in  the  cove,  trying  to  toll  in  a 
flock  of  ducks  with  old  Eph's  dog  ;  but  that  was 
only  a  blind.  When  we  came  up  and  frightened 
the  ducks  away,  they  went  down  the  beach  and 
found  the  gun  as  easy  as  falling  off  a  log.  Just 
then  the  police-boat  came  up  and  they  signaled 
to  her,  and  she  went  in  and  brought  away  the 
gun." 

Upon  hearing  this,  Barr  went  off  into  another 
paroxysm  of  rage,  flourishing  his  fists  in  the  air 


60  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  dancing  about  in  the  sink-boat,  while  the 
"  partner "  clung  to  the  sides  to  keep  from  being 
thrown  out  by  his  companion's  wild  antics,  and 
swore  softly  to  himself. 

"We  ran  alongside  the  police-boat,  thinking 
that  we  might  hear  something  that  wTould  be  of 
use  to  us,  but  Egan  put  the  officers  on  their  guard, 
talking  to  them  in  a  tone  so  low  that  we  could  not 
hear  what  he  said,"  chimed  in  Jones.  "  We  owe 
him  one  for  that." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  never  get  any  more  ducks 
with  that  gun,"  said  Enoch,  consolingly. 

"I  know  I  never  shall,"  growled  Barr,  who, 
having  worked  off  a  little  of  his  rage,  was  now 
seated  quietly  on  the  bottom  of  the  sink-boat. 
"  Let's  pick  up  the  decoys,  Pete.  I  don't  feel  like 
doing  any  more  shooting  to-day." 

"I  shouldn't  think  he  would,"  said  Enoch,  in  a 
low  tone.  "  If  I  were  in  his  place  I  should  feel 
much  more  like  hunting  up  that  Gus  Egan  and 
giving  him  a  good  thrashing."  Then  raising  his 
voice,  he  continued :  "  You  won't  forget  your 
promise,  will  you,  Mr.  Barr?  You  will  let  us 
know  when  you  are  ready  to  make  another  night 
excursion,  won't  you  ?  " 


BARK'S  BIG  GUN.  61 

But  Barr  was  too  angry,  or  too  busy  with  his 
decoys  to  reply.  Enoch  did  not  dare  press  the 
matter  just  then,  for  fear  of  defeating  the  object 
he  had  in  view  ;  and  as  he  could  not  think  of  any- 
thing that  he  cared  to  add  to  his  report,  he  bade 
the  big-gunners  good-by,  and  filled  away  for  home. 
On  the  way  the  Firefly  passed  Mr.  Egan's  house, 
and  Jones  pointed  out  to  Lester  the  berth  the 
Sallie  always  occupied  when  she  was  not  in  use. 
Lester  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  was  a  lonely  and 
retired  spot,  and  so  far  from  the  dwelling  that  a 
tramp  or  anybody  else  who  wanted  to  go  down  the 
bay,  and  who  thought  it  easier  to  ride  than  to 
walk,  could  steal  Egan's  yacht,  or  his  father's 
oyster  boat,  with  little  fear  of  detection. 

"Well,  then,  suppose  we  try  it  to-night,"  said 
Enoch,  when  Lester  had  given  utterance  to  the 
thoughts  that  were  passing  through  his  mind. 
"  Suppose  we  steal  the  cutter  ?  " 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  her  after  we  get  her  ?  " 
inquired  Jones. 

"We'll  not  do  anything  with  her,"  answered 
Enoch,  glancing  up  at  the  sky.  "  We  will  let  the 
elements  take  care  of  her.  There  is  wind  in  those 
clouds,  and  plenty  of  it,  too.  It  will  be  the  easiest 


62  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

thing  in  the  world  to  come  down  here  in  a  small 
boat  after  dark  and  slip  the  chain,  and  I'll  bet 
there  won't  be  much  left  of  the  Sallie  by  the  time 
morning  comes." 

Jones  was  prompt  to  say  that  he  would  gladly 
lend  a  hand,  but  Lester,  although  he  had  often 
talked  very  glibly  about  doing  something  of  this 
kind,  in  order  to  be  revenged  upon  Egan  for  ig- 
noring him  and  paying  so  much  attention  to  Don 
and  Bert  Gordon,  did  not  seem  to  be  very  enthu- 
siastic. He  felt  a  good  deal  as  he  did  on  the  night 
he  and  the  rest  of  the  deserters  from  the  academy 
ran  away  in  the  Sylph.  It  was  easy  enough  to  sit 
down  and  talk  about  such  tilings,  but  when  the 
time  for  action  arrived,  Lester  was  the  first  one  to 
stand  back  and  let  somebody  else  do  the  work  and 
take  all  the  chances  of  detection  and  punishment. 

"  What  do  you  say,  Brigham  ? "  demanded 
Enoch,  after  a  little  pause.  "Are  you  in  for  it  ?  " 

"  0,  yes  ;  of  course;  certainly,"  answered  Lester, 
with  great  apparent  earnestness.  "  You  can  count 
on  me  every  time.  Didn't  I  help  you  rescue  those 
people  from  the  Mystery  at  the  time  she  was 
wrecked  ?  Well,  I  will  help  you  turn  Egan's 
cutter  adrift  this  very  night.  I  would  like  much 


BARB'S  BIG  GUN.  63 

to  see  his  face,  and  hear  what  he  will  have  to  say 
when  he  comes  out  in  the  morning  and  finds  his 
boat  gone." 

"  But  you  would  not  like  to  be  within  reach  of 
his  arm,  if  he  thought  you  had  anything  to  do  with 
helping  that  boat  to  get  adrift,  would  yon  ? " 
asked  Jones.  "I  know  I  wouldn't,  for  a  fellow 
who  can  knock  down  three  or  four  men  and  boys, 
as  Egan  did  during  that  fight  with  the  rioters  at 
Hamilton  Creek  bridge,  is  a  good  fellow  to  keep 
out  of  the  way  of." 

Enoch  and  Lester  had  no  reply  to  make  to  these 
words  of  praise,  bestowed  upon  the  boy  they  so 
cordially  hated  ;  but  they  told  themselves,  as  they 
had  often  done  before,  that  they  would  give  almost 
anything  they  possessed  if  they  had  showed  a  little 
more  pluck  during  those  troublous  times. 

The  Firefly  ran  on  to  her  moorings,  and  her 
captain  proceeded  to  make  everything  snug  in  an- 
ticipation of  the  storm  he  had  predicted.  They 
went  ashore  in  the  canoe  which  they  had  left  tied 
to  the  anchor  buoy  when  they  started  out  in  the 
morning,  and  sat  down  to  their  late  breakfast  with 
appetites  that  enabled  them  to  do  full  justice  to  it. 
They  passed  a  few  hours  in  roaming  about  the 


64  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

fields  with  their  guns  in  their  hands,  popping  away 
at  everything  in  the  shape  of  a  bird  that  showed 
itself,  and  when  the  wind  came  up,  driving  before 
it  blinding  sheets  of  rain  and  sleet,  they  retreated 
to  Enoch's  room,  where  they  passed  the  time  in 
reading  and  talking  and  watching  the  angry  white- 
caps  on  the  bay. 

Although  the  force  of  the  gale  decreased  when 
the  sun  went  down,  the  white-caps  still  rolled 
wildly  ;  but  that  did  not  in  the  least  dampen  the 
ardor  of  Enoch  and  his  friend  Jones,  who  were 
fully  resolved  that  Gus  Egaii  and  his  guests  should 
not  see  any  more  pleasure  in  cruising  about  in  the 
Sallie,  if  it  were  in  their  power  to  prevent  it.  They 
could  scarcely  restrain  their  impatience,  so  slowly 
did  the  hours  drag  themselves  along ;  but  dark- 
ness came  at  last,  and  Enoch  gave  the  signal  for 
action  by  picking  up  his  hat  and  starting  for  the 
door. 

"We  could  not  have  chosen  a  better  night  for 
the  work,"  said  he,  holding  fast  to  his  hat,  which 
the  wind  seemed  determined  to  tear  from  his 
head,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts  to  keep  it  on. 
"  Just  let  this  breeze  get  a  good  grip  on  the  Sal- 
lie,  and  she  is  a  gone  cutter.  Gus  thought  he 


BARK'S   BIG   GUN.  65 

"was  seeing  lots  of  fun  to-day  while  he  was  helping 
those  officers  steal  Barr's  gun,  and  now  he  will 
learn,  by  experience,  how  the  loss  of  property 
affects  a  fellow." 

"But  there  is  this  difference,"  added  Jones, 
turning  his  back  to  the  wind  so  that  he  could 
catch  his  breath.  "  Barr  was  in  a  measure  de- 
pendent upon  that  big  gun  for  his  living,  while 
Egan  is  dependent  upon  his  yacht  for  nothing  but 
his  pleasure-rides.  He  is  able  to  buy  another 
boat  if  he  loses  this  one,  but  poor  Barr  can't  re- 
place that  gun." 

"  I  am  glad  he's  got  another  that  the  officers 
know  nothing  about,"  replied  Enoch,  as  he  un- 
locked the  boat-house,  and  hung  the  lighted  lan- 
tern he  had  brought  with  him  upon  a  convenient 
hook.  "  Now  catch  hold,  all  of  us,  and  shove  her 
in." 

Lester  Brigham,  whose  experience  on  the  day  he 
so  rashly  volunteered  to  assist  in  rescuing  the 
crew  of  the  Mystery,  had  made  him  very  much 
afraid  of  rough  water,  was  greatly  relieved  to  find 
that  the  craft,  in  which  Enoch  purposed  braving 
the  white-caps,  was  not  a  canoe,  but  a  staunch 
row-boat,  with  plenty  of  sheer,  and  roomy  enough 


66  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

to  hold  ten  or  a  dozen  men.  Being  mounted  on 
rollers  she  was  easily  managed,  in  spite  of  her 
size  and  weight.  Lester  assisted  in  putting  her 
in  the  water,  and  in  five  minutes  more  she  was 
being  rowed  rapidly  toward  the  Sallie's  anchorage. 

As  they  passed  Mr.  Egan's  residence  Enoch 
took  note  of  the  fact  that  there  was  a  bright  light 
in  the  ex-sergeant's  room.  He  and  his  guests 
were  doubtless  having  a  "high  old  time"  in  there, 
and  Enoch  told  himself  that  Gus  had  deliberately 
insulted  him  by  not  asking  him  and  Ms  guests 
over  to  help  them  enjoy  it. 

"Every  body  likes  that  boy — every  body  except 
Barr  and  his  crowd  of  loafers  and  ruffians — and 
no  one  seems  to  care  a  cent  for  me/'  thought 
Enoch,  with  no  little  bitterness  in  his  heart.  "  I 
don't  believe  that  even  those  low-down  fellows, 
the  big  gunners,  would  countenance  me,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  fact  that  I  have  showed  that  I  can  be 
of  use  to  them.  They  are  a  pretty  gang  for  a 
gentleman  like  myself  to  associate  with,  I  must 
say  !  Well,  the  fault  lies  at  Egan's  door,  and  he 
is  going  to  suffer  for  it  this  very  night." 

Guided  by  Enoch,  who  pulled  the  bow-oar,  and 
acted  as  look-out  and  coxswain  at  the  same  time, 


BAKU'S   BIG   GUN.  67 

the  row-boat  dashed  past  Mr.  Egan's  oyster-sloop, 
and  drew  up  alongside  the  Sallie.  There  were  no 
signs  of  life  on  board  either  of  the  little  vessels. 
Jones  fastened  into  the  fore-chains  as  soon  as  he 
could  reach  them  with  his  boat-hook,  and  Enoch, 
after  carefully  laying  down  his  oar,  placed  his 
hands  on  the  rail,  and  sprang  lightly  to  the 
yacht's  deck.  Groping  his  way  to  the  windlass 
he  found,  to  his  gratification,  that  Egan  had  been 
accommodating  enough  to  leave  the  anchor-chain 
in  such  shape  that  it  could  be  slipped  in  an 
instant.  Seizing  the  rope  with  both  hands  he  was 
about  to  lay  out  all  his  strength  upon  it  in  one 
vigorous  jerk,  which  would  have  released  the 
chain,  and  allowed  it  to  run  overboard  through 
the  hawse-hole,  thus  giving  the  yawl  up  to  the 
mercy  of  the  elements,  when  suddenly  there  was  a 
glare  of  light  and  a  deafening  report  on  the  deck 
of  the  oyster-boat,  not  more  than  a  dozen  yards 
away,  and  a  bullet  whistled  through  the  air  in 
close  proximity  to  the  boy's  head.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  chorus  of  barks  and  growls  that  made 
Enoch's  blood  run  cold,  and  a  voice  he  had  often 
heard  before  shouted  at  him  through  the  dark- 
ness : 


68  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  You-uns  mighty  smart  ober  da' — you  is  so  ; 
but  ole  Sam  wide  awake,  an'  he  done  seed  ye 
when  ye  go  pas'.  Look  out  da';  Ise  gettin'  ready 
to  shoot  agin,  an'  the  nex'  bullet  come  closter,  7 
tell  ye." 

Enoch  waited  to  hear  no  more.  He  made  a 
headlong  rush  for  the  side,  and  tumbled  into  his 
boat,  which  was  at  once  pushed  off  into  the  dark- 
ness by  its  frightened  crew.  The  Sallie  was  not 
destined  to  be  given  up  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
the  elements  that  night. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AT     SCHOOL     AGAIN. 

fT^HE  last  time  we  saw  Don  and  Bert  Gordon, 
•f"  they  had  just  returned  to  Mississippi  after 
having  spent  a  few  weeks  with  their  friend  Curtis 
in  his  far  northern  home.  They  had  come  back 
with  more  honors  as  students,  soldiers  and  hunters 
than  they  had  ever  hoped  to  win.  Eight  months' 
hard  study,  combined  with  strict  attention  to 
their  duties,  had  made  Don  major  of  the  academy 
battalion  and  Bert  first  lieutenant  of  his  company. 
The  latter  had  barely  escaped  mutilation  from  the 
teeth  and  claws  of  a  wounded  lucivee,  while  Don 
had  smelled  powder,  heard  the  whistle  of  bullets, 
seen  a  murderous-looking  bowie-knife  flourished 
before  his  eyes  by  a  ruffian  who  tried  his  best  to 
use  it  on  his  person,  and  those  who  were  with  him 
during  that  trying  ordeal  declared,  as  one  boy,  that 
he  never  flinched.  More  than  that,  he  had  per- 


70  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

formed  a  feat  during  his  sojourn  in  Ifaine  of  which 
any  veteran  hunter  would  have  been  proud  to 
boast.  He  had  killed  a  full-grown  moose,  whose 
antlers  had  been  given  an  honored  place  in  his 
mother's  dining-room. 

"  I  don't  believe  Don  shot  that  moose  himself," 
said  Lester  Brigham,  when  he  heard  of  it.  "  Some 
old  hunter  shot  it  for  him,  and  he  comes  home  and 
palms  it  off  as  a  trophy  of  his  own  skill  with  the 
rifle.  He  tried  hard  to  get  up  a  reputation  on  the 
strength  of  that  fight  with  the  rioters,  which 
really  did  not  amount  to  any  thing  ;  but  after 
"Williams  and  I  risked  our  lives  to  save  the  crew 
of  the  Mystery,  Don  and  his  crowd  had  not  an- 
other word  to  say.  There  was  danger  in  that  un- 
dertaking, I  beg  you  to  remember,  and  if  Don 
and  his  brother"  had  been  the  heroes  of  it,  they 
never  would  leave  off  talking  about  it." 

Lester  was  standing  in  the  Kochdale  post-office 
waiting  for  his  mail  when  he  said  this,  and  Enoch 
Williams  and  Jones  were  with  him.  Around 
them  was  a  crowd  of  boys,  who  had  so  often  heard 
them  tell  of  the  wonderful  exploits  they  had  per- 
formed during  their  runaway  expedition,  that 
they  were  tired  of  listening  to  them.  Knowing 


AT   SCHOOL    AGAIN.  71 

these  three  fellows  as  well  as  we  do,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  that,  while  magnifying  their  own 
achievements,  they  did  not  scruple  to  speak  in  the 
most  contemptuous  terms  of  what  Don  Gordon 
had  done,  and  to  declare,  in  so  many  words,  that 
his  promotion  and  Bert's  was  owing  entirely  to 
favoritism.  They  wore  their  uniforms  on  all 
occasions,  carried,  themselves  very  stiffly  when  they 
walked,  and  tried  in  every  way  to  impress  the 
Rochdale  boys  with  a  sense  of  their  importance. 
They  succeeded  with  some,  while  others,  who  were 
civil  enough  to  their  faces,  laughed  at  them  behind 
their  backs.  The  Mississippi  boys  were  not  lack- 
ing in  common  sense  if  they  did  live  in  the  coun- 
try. Williams  and  Jones  were  getting  ready  to 
go  home  now,  their  preparations  being  somewhat 
hastened  by  the  arrival  of  Don  and  his  brother, 
whom,  for  reasons  of  their  own,  they  did  not  care 
to  meet. 

"  We  heard  down  here  that  that  fight  with  the 
rioters  was  a  pretty  severe  one,"  observed  Fred 
Packard. 

"  We  don't  doubt  it,"  answered  Jones.  "  It  is 
vory  natural  for  some  people  to  praise  themselves 
when  there  is  no  one  to  do  it  for  them.  I  would 


72  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

be  perfectly  willing  to  go  through  one  just  like  it, 
and  take  my  chances." 

"  So  would  I,"  exclaimed  Enoch. 

"  Here  too,"  chimed  in  Lester,  puffing  out  his 
cheeks  and  looking  very  brave  and  warlike  in- 
deed. "  And  I  wouldn't  brag  about  it  after  I  got 
home,  either." 

"  Well,  then,  why  did  you  not  go  to  Hamilton 
with  Don  and  the  rest  ?  "  inquired  Fred. 

"  Because  I  couldn't.  The  third  company  went, 
and  I  belonged  to  the  fourth.  I  volunteered  to 
go,  and  so  did  my  two  friends  here,  but  the  super- 
intendent has  his  favorites  among  the  students, 
and  of  course  they  had  to  go,  no  matter  if  they 
were  the  biggest  cowards  in  the  academy." 

"  I  conclude  that  you  were  just  spoiling  for  a 
fight,"  said  Joe  Packard,  with  a  smile  that  was 
highly  exasperating  to  Lester  and  his  two  friends. 
"  If  that  was  the  case,  what  made  you  pull  your 
head  under  the  bed-clothes  and  pretend  that  you 
were  ill  when  the  bugle  sounded  that  false 
alarm  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  do  any  thing  of  the  kind ;  did  I, 
boys  ?  "  cried  Lester,  appealing  to  his  guests  who 
were  prompt  to  sustain  him  in  his  denial  of  the 


AT   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  73 

humiliating  charge.  "If  Don  Gordon  told  you 
any  story  of  that  sort,  he  is  a  mean,  sneak- 
ing " 

"  Hold  on  !  "  interrupted  Fred.  "  Don  is  a 
friend  of  mine,  and  somehow  I  can't  bear  to  hear 
him  abused.  Besides " 

Here  Fred  stopped  and  jerked  his  thumb  over 
his  shoulder  toward  the  open  door.  The  boys 
looked,  and  saw  Don  and  Bert  in'  the  act  of  hitch- 
ing their  ponies  to  a  tree  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  road.  They  were  dressed  in  citizens'  clothes, 
and  although  they  did  not  walk  with  the  regula- 
tion step,  nor  turn  square  corners,  any  one  could 
see  at  a  glance  that  they  had  been  under  military 
training,  and  that  they  had  paid  some  attention 
to  it. 

Lester  took  just  one  look  at  them,  and  then 
leaned  his  elbow  on  the  show-case  and  rested  his 
head  on  his  hand.  He  had  evidently  forgotten 
what  he  was  going  to  say  about  Don. 

"  Another  thing,  Gordon  has  never  said  a  word  to 
my  brother  or  me  about  you  since  he  came  home," 
continued  Fred.  "  He  isn't  that  sort.  He  is 
much  too  manly  to  try  to  build  himself  up  by 
pulling  others  down,  and  that  is  more  than  I  can 
4 


74  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

say  for  some  lads  with  whom  I  happen  to  be 
acquainted." 

"  Then  who  told  you  that  ridiculous  tale  about 
me  ?  "  demanded  Lester,  wincing  a  little  und ti- 
the covert  rebuke  contained  in  Fred's  last  words. 

"Our  information  came  from  a  very  reliable 
source,"  was  the  rather  unsatisfactory  reply.  "  I 
know  we  live  a  good  many  miles  from  Bridgeport ; 
but  we  manage  to  keep  pretty  well  posted  in  some 
things  that  happen  there." 

"  His  uncle  told  him  all  about  it,"  said  Enoch, 
turning  his  back  toward  Fred,  and  speaking  in  a 
low  voice.  "  No  one  else  could  have  done  it,  if 
Don  or  Bert  didn't." 

The  "  uncle  "  referred  to  was  the  Mr.  Packard 
who  owned  the  Sylph — the  yacht  in  which  Enoch 
and  his  band  of  deserters  made  their  runaway 
voyage.  He  was  an  old  man  with  all  a  boy's  love 
of  fun.  He  was  very  fond  of  his  nephews,  Fred 
and  Joe,  with  whom  he  corresponded  regularly, 
and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  anything 
amusing  or  exciting  happened  at  the  academy,  he 
did  not  neglect  to  speak  of  it  in  his  letters. 

"And  we  took  Mr.  Packard's  relatives  off  the 
Mystery  and  saved  them  from  going  to  the  bottom 


AT    SCHOOL    AGAIN.*  75 

of  the  bay  with  her  ! "  exclaimed  Lester,  in  deep 
diygust. 

"But  that  was  after  the  fight,  you  know," 
whispered  Enoch.  "He  wouldn't  say  anything 
against  our  courage  now,  I'll  bet  you." 

"  No  matter.  He  has  talked  about  us,  and  told 
things  that  his  good  sense,  if  he  had  any,  ought 
to  have  led  him  to  conceal,  and  I'll  never  go  near 
his  house  again.  I  think  Fred  and  Joe  might 
treat  us  with  a  little  more  respect  after  what 
we  did  for  their  relatives  when  the  Mystery  was 
wrecked." 

As  it  is  possible  the  reader  may  think  so  too, 
we  hasten  to  assure  him  that  it  was  not  Fred's 
fault  nor  Joe's  that  they  could  not  be  friends  with 
Lester  and  Enoch.  These  two  had  a  faculty  of 
driving  every  decent  boy  away  from  them.  When 
they  arrived  in  Rochdale,  Fred  and  Joe  lost  no 
time,,  in  calling  upon  them,  to  tell  them  how 
grateful  they  were  for  what  they  had  done  for 
their  friends  when  their  lives  were  in  peril,  but 
Lester  showed  them  very  plainly,  by  his  actions, 
that  he  did  not  thank  them  for  the  visit.  They 
wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  him  when  he 
was  plain  Lester  Brigham,  he  said  ;  but  now  that 


76*  THE*  YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

he  was  Lester  Brigham  the  hero,  they  were  anxious 
to  cultivate  his  acquaintance.  That  was  some- 
thing to  which  he  could  not  consent ;  and  so  he, 
and  Enoch  and  Jones  following  his  example, 
snubhed  Fred  and  Joe  most  royally  as  often  as 
the  opportunity  was  presented.  If  the  high- 
spirited  Packard  boys  grew  tired  of  such  treat- 
ment after  a  while,  and  showed  Lester  and  his 
boastful  guests  up  in  their  true  colors,  can  any- 
body blame  them  ? 

"  Here  comes  Don,"  said  Jones,  in  a  suppressed 
voice.  "  Don't  salute  him." 

"  Of  course  not ! "  exclaimed  Lester,  who  seemed 
to  grow  angry  at  the  mere  mention  of  such  a 
thing.  "  We  are  not  at  the  academy  now,  and 
we  are  just  as  good  as  he  is." 

"  Hallo,  major  ! "  cried  all  the  Kochdale  boys, 
as  Don  and  his  brother  came  into  the  store. 
"  Glad  to  see  you  back  safe  and  sound,  and  none 
the  worse  for  your  fight  with  the  rioters.  You 
don't  act  a  bit  stuck  up  if  you  are  a  big  officer." 

"  Just  listen  to  'em  ! "  whispered  Lester,  who 
could  not  conceal  his  indignation.  "  The  world  is 
full  of  toadies." 

"  And  always  will  be,"  answered  Jones,  who  was 


AT   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  '  77 

equally  angry  and  disgusted.  "Whenever  some 
fortunate  accident  raises  a  chap  a  round  or  two, 
you  will  always  find  plenty  who  are  willing  to 
to  bow  to  him." 

"  Well,  major,"  said  Fred  Packard,  "  I  hear 
that—" 

"  0,  for  goodness  sake,  drop  that,"  interrupted 
Don.  "  Drop  it,  I  say,  or  I'll  not  talk  to  you.  I 
am  at  home  now,  and  I  want  to  forget  school  and 
every  thing  connected  with  it  until  the  time  comes 
to  go  back." 

Don's  friends  knew  very  well  that  he  cared 
nothing  for  his  military  title,  except  in  so  far  as 
it  marked  his  standing  at  the  academy,  and  that 
was  the  reason  they  addressed  him  by  it — simply 
to  bother  him.  They  gathered  in  a  group  about 
him  and  Bert,  and  Lester  and  his  two  friends 
being  left  to  themselves,  secured  their  mail  as  soon 
as  the  window  was  opened,  and  left  the  post-office, 
looking  straight  before  them  as  they  passed  out  at 
the  door,  and  giving  the  brothers  no  chance  to 
salute  them,  even  if  it  had  been  their  place  to 
do  so. 

"  Now,  Don,"  said  one  of  the  boys,  who  had  not 
an  opportunity  to  speak  to  him  before,  "  is  it  true 


78  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

that  Lester  and  Williams  took  the  crew  off  Mr. 
Packard's  yacht  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives  ?  " 

"  It  is,"  answered  Don,  readily.  "  Bert  and  I 
were  there  and  saw  it  all.  It  was  a  brave  act,  and 
everybody  who  knows  the  circumstances  says  so." 

•'  But  still  Lester  pulled  the  quilts  over  his  head 
and  feigned  illness  when  the  bugle  sounded  ;  and 
Jones,  who  belonged  to  your  company,  was  left 
behind  because  he  hid  in  one  of  the  coal-bins," 
said  Joe  Packard. 

As  Don  could  not  deny  this,  he  said  nothing 
about  it.  He  took  his  mail  as  soon  as  he  could 
get  it,  and  then  he  and  Bert  mounted  their  ponies 
and  rode  homeward,  accompanied  by  the  Packard 
boys. 

The  two  brothers  spent  this  vacation  in  much 
the  same  way  they  spent  the  first  one  after  their 
northern  friends,  Hopkins,  Curtis,  and  Egan  had 
gone  home.  Bert  studied  hard  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  exchange  his  single  bar  for  a  cap- 
tain's shoulder-strap  at  the  next  examination,  but 
Don  never  looked  into  the  book.  He  had  earned 
a  long  rest,  and  had  come  home  to  enjoy  it  in  his 
own  way.  He  rode  and  hunted  to  his  heart's  con- 
tent, swung  Indian  clubs,  punched  the  sand-bag 


AT    SCHOOL    AGAIN.  ,      79 

with  heavy  dumb-bells,  and  ran  a  mile  every 
pleasant  day  at  the  top  of  his  speed  with  a  view 
of  lowering  the  academy  record  during  the  next 
encampment.  When  the  time  came  to  go  back 
he  was  ready,  and  his  mother  saw  him  depart 
without  any  misgivings.  Don  had  showed  her 
that  he  could  behave  himself,  if  he  set  about  it 
in  dead  earnest,  and  now  that  he  had  tried  it  for 
a  whole  year,  and  made  many  friends  and  won  his 
promotion  by  it,  she  was  firm  in  her  belief  that  he 
was  well-started  on  the  right  road  at  last.  Don 
thought  so  too,  but  he  did  not  for  a  moment  relax 
his  vigilance.  Tie  could  not  afford  to  if  be  were 
going  to  make  Egan's  prediction  come  out  true, 
and  wear  the  lieutenant-colonel's  shoulder-straps 
during  his  last  year  at  the  academy.  If  he  desired 
to  use  the  authority  and  enjoy  the  privileges  those 
shoulder-straps  would  give  him,  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  win  them  at  the  very  next  exam- 
ination. 

A  few  days  before  they  left  Rochdale,  Don  and 
Bert  rode  over  to  Lester.  Brigham's  to  see  if  he 
would  be  ready  to  start  when  they  did  —  not 
because  they  wanted  him  for  traveling  companion, 
but  because  they  thought  it  would  be  a  friendly 


80  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

thing  for  them  to  do  ;  but  Lester  received  them  in 
so  freezing  a  manner,  and  showed  so  plainly  that 
he  did  not  care  for  their  company,  that  they  left 
him  to  himself  and  set  out  for  Bridgeport  alone. 

"I  don't  want  anything  to  do  with  them  or  the 
crowd  they  run  with,"  soliloquized  Lester,  as  he 
saw  them  ride  away.  "  I  shall  have  friends  enough 
at  the  academy  without  them.  Enoch  said  he 
knew  of  two  or  three  good  fellows,  who  had  ahout 
half  made  up  their  minds  to  sign  the  muster-roll 
this  year,  and  if  he  brings  them  with  him,  they 
may  be  able  to  think  up  some  way  in  which  we 
can  enjoy  ourselves.  We  have  already  tried  the 
only  plan  I  could  think  of,  and  I  shouldn't  have 
thought  of  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  Huggins." 

Lester  reached  Bridgeport  without  any  mishap, 
and  when  he  stepped  out  of  the  carriage  that  took 
him  and  his  trunk  from  the  railroad  depot  to  the 
academy,  he  found  Williams  and  Jones  waiting 
for  him.  The  "  good  fellows  "  were  there  also — 
three  of  them,  and  of  course  they  were  boys  after 
Enoch's  own  heart.  They  lived  on  Long  Island, 
and  Enoch  went  to  school  with  them  before  his 
father  moved  down  into  Maryland.  They  had  not 
come  to  the  academy  to  learn,  but  because  they 


AT   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  81 

wanted  to  take  part  in  the  sports  and  pastimes 
which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  students,  and  which 
Enoch  had  described  in  glowing  colors  ;  although 
he  had  never  said  a  word  concerning  the  long,  tire- 
some hours  of  study  and  drill  that  came  six  days 
in  the  week  as  regularly  as  the  deep  tones  of  the 
big  bell  rang  out  from  the  cupola.  They  wanted 
the  honor  of  belonging  to  the  school,  a  portion  of 
whose  members  had  stood  up  so  manfully  in 
defense  of  law  and  order ;  but  they  never  stopped 
to  ask  themselves  how  they  would  act,  should 
they  be  called  upon  to  perform,  a  similar  service. 

"  Here  we  are  !  "  exclaimed  Enoch,  as  he  grasped 
Lester's  hand  in  both  his  own  and  shook  it  cor- 
dially, "and  I  have  good  cause  for  complaint 
already.  That  little  snipe,  Bert  Gordon,  has 
been  detailed  to  assign  the  boys  to  their  rooms 
(more  favoritism  right  at  the  start,  you  see),  and 
when  I  asked  him  if  he  would  be  kind  enough  to 
chum  you  on  me,  he  replied  he  did  not  think  it 
would  be  just  the  thing  to  do." 

"  Why  wouldn't  it  ?  "  demanded  Lester,  after 
he  had  shaken  hands  with  Enoch's  three  friends, 
who  were  introduced  to  him  as  Dale,  Barry,  and 
Morris. 


82  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Because  it  suits  His  Royal  Highness  to  keep 
you  two  apart,"  said  Jones.  "  He  thinks  you 
wouldn't  study  anything  but  plans  for  mischief." 

11  Is  that  any  of  his  business  ? "  cried  Lester, 
who  was  very  indignant.  "  He  and  Don  throw  on 
altogether  too  many  airs.  I  wish  we  could  think 
up  some  way  to  get  those  straps  off  his  shoulders." 

"  That  is  simply  impossible,"  said  Enoch.  "  He 
will  be  the  ranking  captain  next  year,  and  Don 
will  be  lieutenant-colonel.  You  wait  and  see. 
They  have  succeeded  iu  getting  on  the  blind  side 
of  the  teachers,  and  their  promotion  is  a  dead 
sure  thing." 

"  Couldn't  he  be  drawn  into  a  scrape  that  would 
do  the  business  for  him  ?  "  asked  Dale. 

Lester  and  Jones  both  answered  that  he  could 
not.  Bert  was  one  of  the  good  little  boys,  and 
had  never  learned  how  to  disobey  any  of  the  rules. 
There  had  been  a  time,  they  said,  when  his  brother 
Don  could  be  induced  to  join  in  anything  that  had 
fun  and  danger  in  it ;  but  he  was  major  of  the 
battalion  now,  and  besides,  Egan  and  the  fellows 
who  belonged  to  that  crowd,  had  so  much  influ- 
ence over  him  that  it  would  be  useless  to  approach 
him  on  the  subject  of  "  scrapes." 


AT   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  83 

"And  dangerous  as  well,"  chimed  in  Enoch. 
"  He  has  an  uncomfortable  habit  of  telling  the 
truth  at  all  times  and  on  all  occasions,  and  if  he 
is  caught,  he  will  own  right  up." 

"  He  did  that  very  thing  the  year  before  I  came 
here,  and  brought  some  jolly  boys  into  serious 
trouble  by  it,"  observed  Lester. 

"  Humph  !  "  exclaimed  Dale,  contemptuously. 
"I  wouldn't  have  any  intercourse  with  such  a 
milk-sop." 

"  He's  no  milk-sop,  and  there  is  no  boy  in  school 
who  dares  call  him  that  to  his  face,  either,"  said 
Jones,  who,  in  his  heart,  admired  Don  Gordon, 
and  earnestly  wished  that  he  was  like  him  in  some 
respects.  "  It  is  true  that  he  has  too  much  honor 
to  lie.  himself  out  of  a  scrape,  but  he  won't  go 
back  on  a  friend." 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  make  that  out,"  snapped 
Lester,  who  never  could  bear  to  hear  a  civil  word 
said  about  either  of  the  Gordon  boys. 

"  Why,  when  he  was  hauled  up  for  allowing 
Clarence  Duncan  and  Tom  Fisher,  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  guard-runners  to  go  by  him  one  night 
when  he  was  on  duty,  didn't  he  come  very  near 
being  sent  down  for  refusing  to  give  their  names 


84  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

when  he  was  ordered  to  do  so  ? "  demanded 
Jones. 

"  Some  of  you  fellows  make  a  great  fuss  about 
that/'  said  Lester,  with  a  gesture  of  impatience. 
"  One  would  think,  by  the  way  you  harp  on  it,  that 
Gordon  is  the  only  boy  in  the  world  who  has  the 
courage  to  stand  by  a  school-mate.  If  he  was  so 
very  anxious  to  keep  the  guard-runners  out  of 
trouble,  why  did  he  not  say  that  no  one  went  by 
him  while  he  had  charge  of  the  floor  ?  That's 
what  any  decent  boy  would  have  done." 

"  And  that  same  decent  boy  would  have  found 
himself  brought  up  with  a  round  turn  directly," 
replied  Jones,  "  for  the  superintendent  knew  right 
where  to  look  to  find  every  fellow  who  broke  the 
rules  that  night.  Don  did  the  best  that  could 
have  been  done  under  the  circumstances,  for  Dun- 
can was  bound  to  go  down  any  way." 

While  Lester  and  his  friends  were  talking  in 
this  way,  they  were  standing  at  the  foot  of  the 
wide  stone  steps  that  led  up  to  the  front  door  of 
the  academy;  and  it  was  not  until  their  teeth 
began  to  chatter  that  they  thought  of  going  into 
the  building  to  get  out  of  reach  of  the  keen,  cut- 
ting wind  which  came  over  the  frozen  surface  of 


AT   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  85 

the  river.  Gathering  about  the  huge  stove  in  the 
hall,  they  threw  off  their  gloves  and  mufflers  and 
looked  about  them.  There  was  a  large  pile  of 
trunks  in  one  end  of  the  hall,  and  Bert  Gordon, 
assisted  by  one  of  the  corporals,  was  trying  his 
best  to  get  rid  of  it  ;  but  fast  as  his  four  stalwart 
porters  worked,  the  pile  grew  in  size,  for  a  train 
had  just  passed  through  the  village,  and  carnage- 
loads  of  students  and  wagon-loads  of  luggage 
were  arriving  every  minute.  Some  of  the  new 
comers  shook  hands  with  Lester  and .  his  two 
cronies  and  were  introduced  to  the  boys  from 
Long  Island ;  but  the  majority  of  them,  al- 
though they  crowded  up  to  the  stove  to  get 
warm,  did  not  notice  Lester  and  his  companions 
at  all. 

"  Do  they  feel  too  big  to  speak  to  a  fellow  ?  " 
whispered  Dale,  who  had  never  been  told  of  the 
wide  gulf  that  separated  the  members  of  the 
different  classes. 

"That's  just  what's  the  matter  with  them," 
answered  Jones.  "  A  good  many  of  them  are 
officers,  and  the  others  belong  to  the  first  class. 
You  must  be  careful  to  say  '  sir '  when  you  have 
occasion  to  speak  to  them." 


86  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Say  '  sir '  to  those  little  brats  of  boys  !"  ex- 
claimed Dale,  who  was  greatly  amazed. 

"  That's  the  law." 

"  I  don't  care  if  it  is ;  I  won't  do  it.  I  am 
just  as  good  as  they  ever  dare  be." 

"No  body  disputes  that," said  Enoch.  "Jones 
is  only  trying  to  post  you  so  that  you  can  keep  out 
of  trouble.  You  must  not  only  address  them  as 
he  says,  but  you  must  not  address  them  at  all  un- 
less they  fir-st  speak  to  you.  Of  course  if  you 
want  any  information,  you  are  at  perfect  liberty 
to  go  to  your  company  officers  to  get  it ;  the  rule 
does  not  apply  in  that  case." 

"  Well,  I'll  be  shot  if  that  don't  beat  any  thing 
I  ever  heard  of,"  said  Morris.  "  Suppose  we 
should  quietly  ignore  all  such  senseless  rules — 
what  then?" 

"  If  you  have  any  idea  of  doing  that,  you  had 
better  make  an  excuse  to  get  away  from  here  be- 
fore you  put  on  the  uniform,"  replied  Enoch,  with 
a  laugh  that  spoke  volumes.  "  They  will  haze 
you  till  you  can't  sleep  o'  nights." 

"  How  will  they  do  it  ?  " 

"  0,  there  are  plenty  of  ways.  They  are  never 
at  a  loss  for  something,  and  they  have  the  faculty 


AT    SCHOOL    AGAIN'.  87 

of  doing  the  very  thing  you  would  rather  they 
would  not  do.  If  they  find  that  any  particular 
way  of  hazing  bothers  you  more  than  another, 
they  will  use  it  every  chance  they  get." 

"The  meanest  of  all  the  mean  ways  of  hazing 
is  the  second  exercise  in  {  setting  up/  "  observed 
Jones.  "  My  back  aches  yet  whenever  I  think  of 
it.  You  see,"  he  added,  addressing  himself  to 
Dale,  "  when  I  first  came  here  I  kicked  against  the 
rules,  just  as  you  show  a  disposition  to  do.  I 
couldn't  see  why  a  boy  who  wore  two  blue  stripes 
around  his  arm  should  be  so  high  up  in  the  world 
that  I  couldn't  speak  to  him  if  I  wanted  to,  and 
one  day  I  addressed  a  friendly  remark  to  one  of 
the  corporals.  Great  Caesar  !  I  thought  he  would 
take  my  head  off,  he  snapped  me  up  so  spitefully. 
After  he  quit  jawing  me  I  thought  he  had  got 
through,  but  he  hadn't — not  by  a  long  shot.  A 
few  days  after  that,  he  drilled  a  squad  of  us  in 
'  setting  up/  and  I  went  through  the  exercise  a 
hundred  and  eighty  times  before  that  little  fice  of 
a  corporal  gave  the  command  '  three.' " 

"It  means  'stop,'"  replied  Lester,  who  had 
also  had  some  very  disagreeable  experience  with  a 
corporal  to  whom,  he  was  determined,  he  would 


88  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

not  show  a  proper  amount  of  respect.  "It  is  the 
same  as  '  rest,'  after  a  squad  or  company  stacks 
arms." 

"  What  sort  of  a  drill  is  it,  any  way  ?  "  asked 
Barry.  "  Is  it  so  very  hard  on  a  fellow  ?  " 

"  Yon  do  it  a  hundred  and  eighty  times  without 
stopping,  and  then  you  can  answer  the  question 
for  yourself,"  was  Enoch's  response.  "  I  can  give 
it  to  you  in  the  language  of  the  tactics.  The 
commands  are:  'Second,  EXERCISE.  Raise  the 
arms  from  the  sides,  extended  to  their  full  length, 
till  the  hands  meet  above  the  head,  palms  of 
the  hands  to  the  front,  fingers  pointing  upward, 
thumbs  locked,  right  thumb  in  front,  the  shoul- 
ders pressed  back.  (Two.)  Bend  over  till  the 
hands,  if  possible,  touch  the  ground,  keeping  the 
the  arms  and  knees  straight.  (THREE.)  Re- 
sume the  position  of  a  soldier/  Try  it  a  few 
times  after  you  have  taken  your  overcoat  off,  and 
see  how  funny  it  is." 

Jones  and  Lester  Brigham  both  gave  it  as  their 
private  opinion  that  Barry  would  learn  to  his  en- 
tire satisfaction  that  there  was  nothing  "funny" 
in  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LESTER     IS     WAKED     UP. 

"  T3  UT  '  setting  up '  is  a  very  mild  form  of 
~^~^  hazing  compared  with  what  I  had  to  go 
through  when  I  first  came  here,"  said  Jones,  after 
a  little  pause.  "  Three  years  ago  the  members  of 
the  yearling  class  who  were  not  lucky  enough  to 
obtain  chevrons,  used  to  treat  a  fellow  rather 
roughly.  They  formed  themselves  into  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole,  whose  business  it  was  to  see 
that  a  plebe's  life  was  made  miserable.  Why, 
it  wasn't  safe  for  a  fourth  class  boy  to  go  into  the 
wash-room  alone.  I  did  it  once,  and  the  first 
thing  the  yearlings  did  was  to  give  me  a  glimpse 
of  Niagara  Falls." 

"  How  did  they  do  that  ?  "  inquired  Morris. 
"  They  stood  me   on  my  head,  and   let   two 
streams  of  cold  water  from  the  hydrants  run  up 
the  legs  of  my  trowsers.     Then  they  showed  me 


90  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

how  to  climb  Zion's  hill,  which  is  simply  trying  to 
walk  up  the  wall  to  any  tune  the  plebe  happens 
to  know.  He  must  sing  his  own  accompaniment. 
Then  they  ordered  me  to  recite  the  alphabet  for- 
ward and  backward  with  appropriate  gestures  ; 
in  short,  they  did  any  and  every  thing  they  could 
think  of  that  would  make  one  appear  ridiculous." 

"  I  would  have  seen  them  happy  before  I  would 
make  such  a  fool  of  myself,"  said  Dale,  angrily. 

"  You  would,  eh  ?  Then  you  would  have  got 
the  neatest  kind  of  a  thrashing." 

"Very  well.  I  would  have  reported  the  last 
one  of  them  as  soon  as  I  could  have  found  my  way 
to  the  superintendent's  office." 

"  And  been  sent  to  Coventry  for  it  ? "  ex- 
claimed Jones. 

"  Coventry  !     I  don't  know  what  you  mean." 

"  Why,  he  means  that  if  you  were  to  run  to  the 
teachers  with  a  little  thing  like  that,  or  with  any 
thing,  in  fact,  that  savored  of  tale-bearing,  all  the 
boys  would  go  back  on  you  as  soon  as  they  heard 
of  it.  They  wouldn't  speak  to  you,  or  even  look 
at  you,"  said  Enoch.  "  You  would  be  as  much 
alone  in  this  big  school  as  ever  Eobinson  Crusoe 
was  on  his  island." 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  91 

"  Then  what  is  a  plebe  to  do  when  the  year- 
lings, as  you  call  them,  take  a  notion  to  show  him 
Niagara  Falls,  or  teach  him  to  climb  Zion's 
hill  ?  "  demanded  Dale. 

"  0,  such  hazing  as  that  is  a  thing  of  the  past," 
replied  Jones ;  and  this  assurance  was  very  com- 
forting to  the  three  boys  from  Long  Island.  "  The 
last  time  it  was  tried  was  when  Duncan,  Fisher  and 
their  crowd,  took  Sam  Arkwright  out  of  his  bed 
in  the  attic,  with  the  intention  of  ducking  him  in 
the  Big  Pond.  They  got  him  out  on  the  ice,  but 
before  they  could  stick  him  in,  Don  Gordon  came 
up  and  spoiled  their  little  game.  At  first  they 
thought  they  would  put  him  and  his  brother  in 
too  ;  but  Don  handled  Duncan,  who  was  the  bully 
of  the  school,  with  so  much  ease,  that  the  others 
were  afraid  to  touch  him.  More  than  that,  they 
dared  not  attempt  to  haze  any  other  plebe,  for 
Don  hinted  very  plainly  that  those  who  tried  it 
would  have  to  answer  to  him  for  it." 

"  It  is  a  fact,"  said  Lester,  seeing  that  Dale 
looked  a  little  incredulous.  "One  single  plebe 
backed  a  class  of  seventy-five  yearlings  square 
down." 

"You  needn't  speak  of  it  in  a  tone  so  con- 


92  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

temptuous,"  said  Jones,  warmly.  "  You  are  a 
yearling  now,  and  you  and  your  class  are  at  lib- 
erty to  start  the  hazing  business  going  again,  if 
you  feel  so  inclined.  I  dare  you  to  do  it." 

Jones  knew  that  he  was  perfectly  safe  in  saying 
this,  and  so  did  Enoch.  We  know  that  Lester 
was  just  the  one  to  urge  others  o.n  to  perform- 
ances of  this  kind,  and  he  would  have  looked  upon 
the  attempt  of  some  unlucky  plebe  to  climb 
Zion's  hill  to  a  tune  of  his  own  singing  as  an  inter- 
esting spectacle  ;  but  the  promise  of  the  lieute- 
nant-colonel's silver  leaf  at  the  close  of  the  next 
examination,  would  not  have  induced  him  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  proceedings.  Don's  big 
heart  would  not  let  him  stand  quietly  by  and  see 
a  helpless  student  imposed  upon,  and  Lester  knew 
it.  By  his  victory  over  Clarence  Duncan  Don 
had  broken  up  the  barbarous  practice  of  hazing 
most  effectually. 

Just  then  a  door  at  the  farther  end  of  the  hall 
was  opened,  and  five  boys  came  out.  Three  of 
them  were  dressed  in  citizen's  clothes,  and  the 
other  two  were  in  uniform.  One  of  the  latter  was 
a  short,  thick-set  fellow,  who  wore  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  bent  so  far  forward  when  he  laughed 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  93 

that  he  showed  the  silver  ornaments  in  his 
shoulder  straps.  The  other  was  considerably 
taller,  and  straight  as  an  arrow  and  looked  every 
inch  the  soldier.  That  the  two  in  uniform  were 
officers  of  rank  was  made  evident  by  the  actions 
of  a  party  of  students  who  were  sitting  on  a  bench 
near  the  door,  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  re- 
port their  arrival  to  the  adjutant.  They  arose  to 
their  feet  as  one  boy,  and  raised  their  hands  to 
their  caps ;  while  the  officers  and  their  civilian 
companions,  after  returning  the  salute,  stepped 
forward  and  shook  hands  with  them  in  the  most 
friendly  manner. 

"  I'll  bet  they  won't  be  so  condescending  when 
they  go  by  this  crowd,"  said  Lester,  in  a  tone  of 
disgust. 

"  Who  are  they,  any  way  ?  "  asked  Morris. 

"  The  two  in  uniform  wear  the  brass  collars 
among  the  students,"  replied  Jones.  "  The  short 
one  is  Colonel  Mack,  and  the  other  is  Major  Gor- 
don, the  lieutenant's  brother." 

"Isn't  that  enough  to  convince  you  that  pro- 
motions in  this  school  go  by  favor  of  the  teach- 
ers ?  ''  demanded  Lester.  "  Two  commissions  in 
one  family  !  " 


94  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"The  other  three  are  Egan,  Hopkins  and 
Curtis — graduates  who  are  taking  the  finishing 
course,"  continued  Jones,  paying  no  attention  to 
Lester's  ill-humored  remarks.  "  They  are  all 
chums,  and  when  you  see  one  of  them  loafing 
around,  you  may  be  sure  that  the  others  are  not  far 
away.  They  even  spend  their  vacations  together, 
putting  in  the  time  in  hunting  and  fishing — all 
except  the  colonel,  who  thinks  more  of  his  books 
than  he  does  of  a  gun  or  fly-rod.  They  went  up 
into  Maine  last  fall,  and  while  they  were  camping 
out  in  the  woods,  the  major  killed  a  full-grown 
moose." 

"  Aw  !  What  is  the  use  of  keeping  that  pre- 
posterous yarn  in  circulation  ?  "  exclaimed  Les- 
ter. "  Every  time  I  hear  it  I  am  reminded  of  the 
1  Three  Fishers/  who  went  out  to  catch  trout,  but 
who  never  got  a  bite,  although  they  angled  faith- 
fully all  day  long  ;  nevertheless  when — 

'  Three  fishers  went  into  town  that  night 
Their  "  speckled  beauties  "  were  fair  to  see  ; 
They  talked  of  their  sports  with  keen  delight — 

The  envy  of  all  the  fraternity. 
For  men  will  fish,  and  men  will  lie, 
And  what  they  can't  catch  they're  sure  to  buy, 

And  never  repent  in  the  morning.' 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  95 

That's  the  way  it  was  with  Don  and  his  moose  ; 
he  shot  it  with  a  silver  bullet. 

"  I  have  heard  you  say  that  before,  but  I  can't 
believe  that  it  is  true/'  retorted  Jones.  "  Don 
Gordon  never  had  to  draw  a  long  bow  to  win  a 
reputation  either  as  a  student,  soldier  or  hunter  ; 
and,  besides,  the  boys  who  were  with  him  wouldn't 
back  up  a  false  statement  of  any  kind." 

"  Private  Lester  Brigham,  room  39,  third  floor !" 
shouted  the  corporal  who  was  acting  as  Bert's  as- 
sistant ;  and  this  broke  up  the  party  about  the 
stove,  and  put  an  end  to  the  discussion.  Lester 
followed  the  porter,  who  shouldered  his  trunk  and 
went  up  stairs  with  it.  He  had  a  great  curiosity 
to  see  who  it  was  that  he  was  to  be  "  chummed  " 
on  during  the  year,  and  when  he  reached  the 
room  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  he  found  out, 
for  the  boy  was  there  waiting  for  him. 

"  It's  just  what  I  might  have  expected  from  that 
little  snipe  of  a  Bert  Gordon,"  soliloquized  Lester, 
when  his  eyes  fell  upon  his  new  room-mate,  who 
was  sitting  at  the  table  with  a  book  before  him. 
Instead  of  chumming  me  on  a  decent  fellow,  like 
Enoch  Williams,  he  has  gone  and  shoved  me  in 
with  one  of  the  good  little  boys.  I  shall  see  no 


96  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

fun  in  my  room  this  term."  Then,  aloud,  he  said, 
as  he  extended  a  very  limp  hand  to  be  shaken  by 
the  boy  at  the  table  :  "  Ah  !  Ross,  you  and  I  are 
to  live  together  for  awhile,  are  we  ?  I  don't  know 
how  we  shall  get  on,  for  your  way  of  enjoying 
yourself  and  mine  are  widely  different." 

"Perhaps  there  will  not  be  as  much  difference 
this  term  as  there  was  last,"  answered  Ross,  sink- 
ing back  in  his  chair,  while  Lester  opened  his 
trunk  and  took  out  his  uniform.  "  I  came  here, 
last  term,  fully  resolved  to  behave  myself.  I 
studied  hard ;  I  never  ran  the  guard  to  eat  pan- 
cakes at  Cony  Ryan's  ;  I  never  wilfully  disobeyed 
any  of  the  rules  of  the  school ;  and  what  did  I 
make  by  it  ?  Not  even  a  corporal's  stripes.  You 
and  your  crowd  set  the  law  at  defiance,  ran  away 
in  Mr.  Packard's  schooner,  and  had  a  good  time 
generally,  and  yet  you  are  no  worse  off  to-day  than 
I  am.  What  makes  you  look  at  me  in  that  way  ?  " 
added  Ross,  for  Lester,  who  was  kneeling  in  front 
of  his  trunk,  never  took  his  eyes  off  his  room-mate's 
face  while  the  latter  was  speaking. 

"  It  is  because  I  am  surprised  to  hear  you  talk 
so,"  was  the  reply.  "  I  thought  you  were  one  of 
the  good  boys,  and  when  I  came  into  this  room 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  97 

and  found  whom  I  was  chummed  on.  I  was  dis- 
gusted. Williams  wanted  me  put  in  his  room,  but 
Bert  Gordon  wouldn't  listen  to  it.  I  suppose  he  was 
afraid  we  would  get  up  another  runaway  scheme." 

"You  fellows  must  have  had  lots  of  fun  while 
you  were  gone,"  continued  Ross. 

"  We  certainly  did,"  replied  Lester,  with  great 
enthusiasm.  "  Of  course,  we  knew  that  we  would 
be  captured  in  time,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
Williams  and  myself,  there  was  not  a  boy  on  board 
the  Sylph  who  knew  how  to  stand  his  trick  at  the 
wheel.  I  suppose  you  know  that  I  was  the  original 
commander  of  the  yacht  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  heard  all  about  it.  Why  did  you  give 
it  up?" 

"  Because  I  wasn't  sure  that  I  could  handle  so 
large  a  vessel  as  the  Sylph  in  a  narrow  river,  having 
always  been  accustomed  to  plenty  of  sea  room. 
Besides,  Enoch  wanted  the  command,  and  I  didn't. 
I  proposed  the  thing,  and  so  long  as  the  boys  got 
some  fun  out  of  it,  that  was  all  I  cared  for." 

"  Have  you  thought  of  anything  for  this  term  ?  " 
inquired  Ross. 

"  I  have  not ;  and  if  any  of  the  other  fellows 
have,  I  don't  know  it." 

5 


98  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  I  wish  you  would  be  good  enough  to  keep  me 
posted.  I  didn't  see  any  fun  at  all  last  term,  and 
I  am  ready  for  anything  now." 

"  I  can't  promise  to  do  that  until  I  have  con- 
sulted the  other  fellows,"  was  Lester's  reply. 
"But  I  will  speak  to  them  and  see  what  they  think 
about  it." 

"  I've  got  plenty  of  money,  and  I  am  ready  to 
spend  it,  too." 

"  But  the  rules  say  that  you  must  give  it  to  the 
superintendent  for  safe  keeping/' 

"  I  can  take  care  of  it  myself.  I  gave  him  a 
little,  just  for  a  blind,  and  the  rest  I  shall  keep  by 
me.  That's  what  you  did  last  term." 

"  Yes  ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  Mack,  and  a 
few  other  boys  I  don't  at  all  like,  I  should  have 
lost  the  last  red  cent  of  it.  I  wish  that  somebody 
else  had  recovered  it  for  me,  for  I  don't  like  to  feel 
that  I  am  under  obligations  to  Mack  and  his 
crowd." 

It  was  plain  that  Ross,  having  become 
thoroughly  disheartened  by  his  failure  to  win  pro- 
motion at  the  last  examination,  had  abandoned 
all  hope  of  ever  being  anything  better  than  a 
private,  and  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  to  cast 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  99 

his  lot  with  Lester  Brigham  and  the  rest  of  the 
law-breakers. 

"  He  don't  care  a  snap  of  his  finger  for  the  fun 
he  thinks  he  is  going  to  see,"  soliloquized  Lester, 
who,  having  put  on  his  uniform,  left  the  room  to 
report  his  arrival  to  the  adjutant,  "but  he  wants 
revenge  on  the  teachers  and  on  the  students  who 
received  warrants  and  commissions.  How  he  im- 
agines that  he  is  going  to  hurt  either  of  them  by 
breaking  the  rules,  I  can't  understand  ;  he  will 
find  that  he  will  hurt  himself  instead.  Well,  I 
don't  know  that  it  is  any  of  my  business.  I  shall 
say  a  good  word  for  him  to  Enoch  and  the  rest, 
because  he's  got  money.  They  made  pretty  free 
with  my  pocket-book  last  term,  and  now  they  can 
look  to  somebody  else  for  their  pies  and  pancakes." 

By  the  time  it  began  to  grow  dark,  all  the  stu- 
dents who  were  to  attend  the  academy  during  the 
year  had  reported  for  duty.  There  was  guard- 
mount  that  night,  it  being  the  14th  of  January, 
and  the  next  morning  the  roar  of  the  field-piece 
announced  that  the  business  for  the  next  twelve 
months  had  begun  in  earnest.  And  a  dreary  year 
indeed  it  proved  to  be  to  some  of  the  students. 
Jones  and  the  other  discontented  fellows  in  the 


100  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

second  class,  often  declared,  with  no  little  disgust 

'  '  O 

and  indignation,  that  they  had  never  seen  anything 
like  it.  Cony  Ryan  was  often  heard  to  make  the 
same  remark.  His  little  parlor,  which  had  so  fre- 
quently echoed  to  the  songs  and  speeches  of  the 
guard-runners,  was  now  entirely  deserted  of  even- 
ings, although  Lester  and  Enoch  and  some  of  their 
particular  friends  occasionally  dropped  in  on  Sat- 
urday afternoon  to  eat  pancakes  and  maple  syrup, 
and  to  mourn  with  him  over  the  days  that  were  past. 

"  We  can't  help  it,  Cony/'  Enoch  once  said  to 
him.  "It  is  all  Don  Gordon's  fault  and  Bert's. 
Don  is  reported  to  have  said,  when  he  shook  hands 
with  Mack  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  that  he 
should  consider  himself  unworthy  of  the  position 
he  holds  if  there  were  a  single  instance  of  success- 
ful guard-running  this  year.  That  is  always  the 
way  with  these  bad  fellows,  you  know.  Whenever 
they  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  and  do  it  in  dead  earnest, 
they  go  just  as  far  the  other  way.  They  become 
enthusiasts  and  radicals." 

"  Radicals  !  "  repeated  Jones.  "  In  modern 
politics  a  radical  is  a  person  who  advocates  ex- 
treme measures  of  reform.  Radical  is  good.  Gor- 
don, the  Radical." 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  101 

"I  understand  all  about  that,"  said  Cony. 
"But  are  you  boys  willing  that  he  should  boss 
the  academy  ?  If  you  were  major  of  the  battalion 
do  you  imagine  that  you  could  keep  him  inside  the 
grounds  if  he  didn't  want  to  stay  ?  N*ot  by  a  long 
shot.  He  would  find  some  way  to  outwit  you,  and 
the  harder  you  made  it  for  him,  the  better  he  would 
like  it.  That's  the  kind  of  a  cadet  his  father  was, 
and  Don  is  just  like  him.  I  know  it,  for  I  have 
learned  to  read  boys  as  easily  as  I  can  read  so 
many  books." 

"  But  you  don't  understand  it,  smart  as  you 
think  you  are,"  exclaimed  Lester,  who  was  enraged 
at  the  imputation  that  was  thus  cast  upon  the 
skill  and  cunning  of  himself  and  his  companions. 
"  You  see  before  you  at  this  moment  a  crowd  of 
fellows  who  are  as  sharp  as  Don  Gordon  ever  dare 
be,  and  who  have  quite  as  good  a  supply  of 
courage." 

"I  can't  see  it,"  answered  Cony,  with  some- 
thing like  a  ring  of  contempt  in  his  tones.  "I 
was  sorry  to  hear  that  Gordon  had  quit  guard- 
running —  " 

"  I  can  easily  believe  that,"  interrupted  Jones, 
with  a  smile  and  a  sidelong  glance  at  his  com- 


102  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

panions.  "Don  was  always  well  supplied  with 
tho  needful,  and  he  was  not  at  all  backward  about 
spending  it.  When  he  asked  for  money,  the  super- 
intendent never  refused  to  let  him  have  it." 

"I  wasn't  thinking  about  his  money,"  said  Cony, 
hastily.  "  I  admired  his  pluck,  his  ingenuity  in 
baffling  the  guards,  and  more  than  all,  I  liked  to 
talk  to  him,  for  he  is  smarter  than  a  steel  trap.  I 
say  I  was  sorry  to  hear  that  Don  had  gone  over  to 
Egan  and  that  crowd,"  he  added,  addressing  him- 
self to  Lester,  "  for  I  knew  that  we  should  see  no 
more  of  him  here,  unless  he  happened  to  look  in  of 
a  Saturday  ;  but  when  I  heard  that  it  was  you  who 
proposed  that  runaway  expedition  in  Mr.  Pack- 
ard's yacht,  I  told  myself  that  the  boys  had  another 
leader  who  was  fully  as  daring  as  any  they  had  ever 
had." 

"And  it  is  my  opinion  that  they  were,  and  still 
are,  satisfied  with  the  change,"  answered  Lester, 
with  great  complacency.  "  Ask  them  if  we  didn't 
see  lots  of  fun  while  we  were  cruising  in  the  Sylph, 
and  see  what  their  reply  will  be." 

"  Yes ;  but  you  stopped  at  that,"  exclaimed 
Cony.  "One  single,  solitary  plan  was  all  your 
brain  would  hold." 


LESTER    IS   WAKED   UP.  103 

Cony  might  have  added  that  that  single  plan 
never  originated  in  Lester's  brain.  The  latter 
never  would  have  thought  of  it  if  it  had  not  heen 
for  Huggins.  Cony  knew  just  how  much  the 
academy  boys  thought  of  Lester  as  a  leader,  for 
he  had  heard  through  Jones  that  Enoch  Williams 
had  pronounced  him  a  fraud  of  the  first  water ; 
hut  he  wanted  to  wake  him  up  and  set  him  to 
work  at  something,  if  he  could,  for  his  revenue 
had  fallen  off  considerably  since  Don  Gordon  de- 
clared that  an  absolute  stop  must  be  put  to  guard- 
running. 

"You  don't  seem  to  have  any  originality  about 
you,"  continued  Cony,  still  addressing  his  remarks 
to  Lester.  "  You  are  a  boy  of  one  idea  ;  and  now 
that  you  have  got  that  out  of  your  head,  you  don't 
seem  to  be  able  to  scare  up  any  more.  If  you  are 
fit  to  lead  your  comrades,  you  will  prove  it  before 
many  more  days  have  passed  over  your  head." 

"  But  how  can  I  prove  it  ?  "  demanded  Lester, 
who  was  pleased  to  know  that  Cony  looked  upon 
him  as  a  leader  among  his  fellows.  "  There  never 
were  such  precautions  taken  against  guard-running 
before  ;  all  the  old  students  say  so.  The  officer  of 
the  guard  hardly  ever  sits  down  for  more  than  five 


104  THE   YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

minutes  at  a  time  ;  Don  and  Mack  make  it  a  point 
to  go  the  rounds  when  you  are  least  expecting  to 
see  them  ;  and  never  a  night  passes  that  they  don't 
look  into  every  dormitory  in  the  building." 

"In  other  words,  being  full  of  tricks  himself, 
Don  knows  just  how  to  go  to  work  to  head  off 
every  other  trick  that  can  be  conjured  up,"  Jones 
remarked.  "I  tell  you,  Cony,  they  have  drawn 
the  reins  tight  so  far  this  term,  and  all  the  signs 
seem  to  indicate  that  they  will  not  be  slackened  an 
inch." 

"  No  matter  for  that,"  was  Cony's  response.  "  I 
know  an  army  of  boys  who  were  graduated  at  this 
school,  and  who,  if  they  were  here  now,  would 
laugh  at  Don  Gordon  and  his  new  regulations.  If 
Gordon  was  the  same  fellow  he  was  when  he  first 
came  here,  he  too  would  laugh  at  all  such  rules, 
and  run  the  guard  as  often  as  he  felt  like  it.  What 
you  boys  want  is  a  leader  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name — somebody  who  has  brains  enough  to  think 
up  plans  for  your  amusement,  and  courage  and 
skill  enough  to  carry  them  out.  I  thought  —  I 
really  thought  that  Brigham  was  that  sort,  but  I 
have  been  disappointed  in  him." 

"  He  isn't  any  more  disappointed  in  him  than 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  105 

we  are/'  whispered  Enoch,  as  he  and  the  rest  bent 
their  steps  toward  the  academy,  the  time  for  which 
their  passes  were  granted  having  nearly  expired. 
"  We  found  out  long  ago  that  he  is  all  talk  and 
no  do." 

"  And  Cony  knows  it,"  replied  Jones.  "  He  was 
only  trying  to  put  a  little  life  into  Lester,  because 
he  wants  to  see  the  color  of  some  more  of  his 
money.  That  was  what  he  was  up  to,  and  you 
may  depend  upon  it." 

"  That  is  a  very  nice  place  to  get  away  to,"  ob- 
served Moms,  who  had  never  visited  Cony  Kyan's 
hotel  before;  "but  what  a  cross  old  chap  the  land- 
lord is  ! " 

"  That's  only  his  way  of  talking,"  Enoch 
hastened  to  explain.  "  He  isn't  cross  at  all.  He 
likes  to  see  fun — nothing  suits  him  better  than  to 
have  that  little  parlor  crowded  so  full  of  boys  that 
another  one  could  not  be  pushed  in  edgewise — and 
he  hoped  that  by  giving  Brigham  a  good  overhaul- 
ing he  could  hurt  his  pride,  put  some  ambition 
into  him  and  set  guard-running  to  going  again ; 
but  I  am  afraid  he  is  destined  to  be  disappointed 
in  that.  Lester's  will  is  good  enough,  but  he  lacks 
the  ability." 


106  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Then  kick  him  out  and  put  some  one  else  in 
as  leader." 

"  Leader !  "  sneered  Enoch.  "  Lester  never  has 
been  acknowledged  as  such  since  we  found  him 
out,  which  we  did  in  less  than  an  hour  after  we 
got  possession  of  Mr.  Packard's  schooner.  But  it 
is  policy  to  make  him  think  he  holds  that  position. 
If  one  of  our  fellows  gets  hard  up  for  a  dollar,  we 
flatter  him  about  something  until  we  get  him  in 
the  right  humor,  and  then  we  strike  him  for  a 
donation.  It  is  very  comforting  to  know  where 
you  can  get  a  loan  when  you  want  it.  I  suppose 
he  is  going  home  with  me  next  vacation,  but  I 
can't  say  that  I  expect  any  pleasure  from  his  visit ; 
still  I  shall  do  the  very  best  I  can  for  him,  because 
when  Jones  and  I  were  stopping  at  his  father's 
house,  nothing  was  too  good  for  us." 

While  the  two  boys  talked  in  this  way  they 
were  trudging  through  the  snow  toward  the 
academy,  Lester  Brigham  lagging  behind  alone, 
so  that  he  could  commune  undisturbed  with  his 
own  thoughts.  Cony  Kyan  still  looked  upon  him 
as  the  leader  and  hope  of  his  party  !  If  there  were 
any  boy  in  the  academy  who  could  head  off  Don 
Gordon,  he  was  the  one  !  There  was  a  good  deal 


LESTER    IS   WAKED    UP.  107 

of  consolation  in  that  reflection,  but  what  business 
had  Cony  to  say  that  if  Don  were  the  same  boy  he 
was  when  he  first  came  to  Bridgeport,  and  the  ex- 
isting rules  were  in  force,  he  would  laugh  at  them 
and  run  the  guard  as  often  as  he  felt  like  it  ? 
When  the  fact  that  he  (Lester)  had  been  one  of 
Cony's  very  best  customers  was  taken  into  con- 
sideration, the  comparison  that  had  been  drawn 
between  his  courage  and  skill  and  Don  Gordon's, 
was  unkind,  to  say  the  least.  He  wished  he  could 
think  up  some  way  to  make  Cony  sorry  for  what 
he  had  said. 

"  He  may  learn  to  his  cost  that  it  was  bad  policy 
for  him  to  go  at  me  in  that  fashion,"  said  Lester, 
to  himself.  "  It  will  be  a  colder  day  than  this 
when  I  next  go  into  his  house  to  get  warm,  or  to 
eat  his  pies  and  pancakes.  But  I  must  do  some- 
thing at  once.  Cony's  cutting  remarks  will  set 
all  the  fellows  to  thinking,  and  the  first  one  who 
hits  upon  a  plan  that  suits  the  rest  and  promises 
to  be  successful,  will  crowd  me  out  of  my  position 
as  leader." 

"  Hallo,  Brigham  !  What  are  you  hanging  back 
for?"  shouted  Enoch,  who,  with  the  rest  of  the 
party,  was  now  a  long  distance  in  advance  of  Lester. 


108  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  He  doesn't  like  the  way  Cony  rallied  him  on 
his  inactivity,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  had 
put  his  thinking-cap  on/'  observed  Jones. 

"That's  just  it,"  said  Lester,  frankly.  "Now, 
that  I  think  of  the  matter,  we  have  showed  our- 
selves to  be  a  pretty  set  of  fellows  to  let  one  or  two 
boys  get  the  weather-gauge  of  us  so  completely, 
without  a  single  word  or  act  of  remonstrance  on 
our  part.  I  don't  intend  that  this  state  of  affairs 
shall  continue  much  longer." 

"  Good  for  you,  Brigham  !  "  cried  all  the  boys, 
in  concert. 

"  I  knew  you  could  think  of  something,  if  you 
went  about  it  in  earnest,"  added  Enoch.  "  What 
do  you  propose  ?  " 

"  Nothing  yet.  I  haven't  got  my  wits  fairly  at 
work  ;  but  I  will  have  an  idea  to  present  for  your 
consideration  when  I  meet  you  to-morrow  mom- 
ing."  And  then  he  wondered  what  in  the  world 
he  should  do  if  he  failed  to  keep  his  promise. 

"Good  for  you!"  shouted  the  boys,  again. 
"  Will  it  be  another  picnic  on  the  bay  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not,"  Enoch  hastened  to  reply. 
"  We've  had  enough  of  picnics  ;  we  want  some- 
thing new  this  time,  and  the  more  excitement  and 


LESTER   IS   WAKED   UP.  109 

danger  there  are  in  it,  the  better  I,  for  one,  shall 
like  it.  We  want  to  perform  an  exploit  that  has 
never  been  attempted  or  even  thought  of  since  the 
Bridgeport  academy  had  an  existence.  None  of  us 
ever  dreamed  of  so  daring  a  feat  as  running  off 
with  a  private  yacht,  until  Brigham  suggested  it 
to  us,  and  I  know  that  when  he  gets  ready  to 
report  the  result  of  his  cogitations,  he  will  astonish 
us.  All  we've  got  to  do  is  to  give  him  time.5' 

Enoch's  words  were  meant  to  be  encouraging, 
but  they  were  not.  On  the  contrary,  the  effect 
they  produced  upon  Lester  was  a  disheartening  one. 
In  order  to  meet  the  approval  of  all  his  friends, 
the  plan  he  proposed  must  be  entirely  original, 
and  there  must  be  danger  and  excitement  in  it. 
Lester  began  to  be  afraid  that  he  had  promised 
more  than  he  could  fulfill.  He  relapsed  into 
silence  again,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  reported  his 
return  to  the  officer  of  the  day,  he  made  the  best 
of  his  way  to  his  dormitory.  His  room-mate  was 
there,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  was  greeted  by 
him  astonished  Lester  not  a  little. 

Boss  had  been  "  gated "  for  thirty  days  on 
account  of  some  unsoldier-like  conduct  in  the 
ranks  during  dress-parade,  and  this  prevented 


110  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

him  from  accompanying  Lester  and  his  party  to 
Cony  Ryan's.  He  had  felt  very  ill-humored  over 
it  at  first,  but  he  was  glad  of  it  now.  So  was 
Lester,  when  he  heard  and  comprehended  the  first 
words  his  companion  addressed  to  him. 

"  Brigham,"  said  Ross,  in  a  suppressed  tone  of 
voice,  at  the  same  time  jumping  up  to  close  and 
lock  the  door,  "  I  have  got  hold  of  something  that 
has  suggested  an  idea  to  me,  and  if  you  are  as 
smart  as  I  think  you  are,  you  can  perform  an 
exploit  that  will  throw  your  picnic  on  the  Sylph 
far  into  the  shade.  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing 
being  done,  but  I  don't  see  why  it  can't  be  done." 

Was  it  any  wonder  that  Lester  was  surprised  as 
well  as  delighted  ?  He  felt  like  taking  Ross  in 
his  arms  and  hugging  him  ;  but  he  didn't.  He 
dropped  into  the  nearest  chair  and  looked  at  him 
without  speaking. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

A    DINNER    IN    PROSPECT. 

"  T  SAY,  Gordon  ! "  exclaimed  Colonel  Mack,  as 
he  stretched  himself  at  full  length  upon  the 
sofa  in  the  neatly  furnished  dormitory  which  the 
ranking  officers  of  the  battalion,  whoever  they 
might  be,  always  occupied  in  common.  "  This 
thing  is  getting  to  be  monotonous.  Put  away 
that  cyclopedia  and  talk  to  me." 

Don  closed  the  ponderous  book  of  reference, 
which  he  had  been  intently  studying  for  the  last 
hour,  and  putting  his  hands  into  his  pockets  set- 
tled back  in  his  chair  and  looked  across  the  table 
toward  his  chum. 

"  Do  you  know  that  Enoch  Williams  and  his 
crowd  declare  that  it  is  a  downright  shame  the 
way  things  are  going  on  ? "  continued  Mack. 
"  They  say  that  your  promotion,  and  the  manifesto 
you  issued  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  have 


112  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

taken  the  pluck  and  ambition  out  of  every  decent 
boy  in  the  academy." 

"  What  manifesto  ?  "  demanded  Don. 

"  About  guard-running." 

"  I  didn't  issue  any." 

"Didn't  you  say  that  you  were  going  to  do  your 
best  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  and  that  every  boy  who 
succeeded  in  getting  out  of  the  grounds  after  taps 
could  call  on  you  for  the  price  of  a  plate  of  pan- 
cakes at  Cony  Kyan's  ?  " 

"  I  did,  and  you  said  the  same  thing." 

"  I  know  it ;  and  I  know,  too,  that  we  have 
brought  blessings  on  our  heads  from  two  different 
factions — from  the  faculty,  who  say  that  the  bat- 
talion was  never  in  better  trim  than  it  is  at 
present ;  and  from  Lester  Brigham  and  his  adher- 
ents, who  declare  that  we  are  the  meanest  pair 
that  ever  lived,  and  that  we  exceed  our  authority 
every  day  in  the  week.  They  would  like  to  dis- 
grace us  before  the  whole  school,  if  they  could." 

Don  laughed,  but  said  nothing.  He  knew  just 
how  Enoch  and  the  fellows  who  had  accompanied 
him  on  his  runaway  expedition  felt  toward  himself 
and  Mack,  but  it  did  not  make  him  at  all  uncom- 
fortable. He  ate  and  slept,  and  enjoyed  himself 


A   DINNER   IN   PROSPECT.  113 

in  various  ways  as  well  as  he  ever  did.  Being  one 
of  the  highest  officers  of  the  academy  it  was  his 
duty  to  prevent,  as  far  as  lay  in  his  power,  all 
violations  of  the  rules.  This  duty  he  performed 
quietly  and  effectually,  and  without  fear  or  favor. 
He  seemed  to  know  everything  that  went  on  in 
and  about  the  academy.  He  did  not  intend  that 
what  he  said  concerning  guard-running  should 
become  noised  abroad  ;  but  somehow  it  did,  and  a 
great  many  threats  had  been  made.  In  addition 
to  this,  Cony  Eyan  had  offered  extra  inducements 
to  the  successful  guard-runner,  but  no  one  had  yet 
come  forward  to  claim  the  pancakes.  Don  knew 
that  if  a  single  student  escaped  from  the  grounds 
through  his  negligence,  he  (Don)  would  be  a  can- 
didate for  a  court-martial,  which  would  put  an 
end  to  all  his  hopes  of  picking  up  the  lieutenant- 
colonel's  shoulder-straps  when  Mack  laid  them 
down  at  the  close  of  the  school  term. 

"  There's  lots  of  uneasy  fellows  here  this  term," 
continued  Mack.  "  Hadn't  we  better  let  up  on 
them  a  little  and  give  them  a  chance  to  show  their 
hands  ?  " 

Don,  remembering  that  there  was  a  time,  and  it 
was  not  so  very  long  ago  either,  when  he  would 


114  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

have  been  prompt  to  "  show  his  hand "  if  his 
officers  had  "let  up"  on  him  in  the  slightest 
degree,  answered  that  he  couldn't  think  of  it. 
He  had  learned  that  a  student  who  behaved  him- 
self, and  who  could  look  his  mother  in  the  face 
when  he  went  home  to  spend  his  vacations,  had 
a  clearer  conscience  and  a  mind  that  was  much 
more  at  ease  than  one  who  was  constantly  set- 
ting himself  up  in  opposition  to  lawful  authority, 
and  he  was  resolved  that  there  should  be  no  break- 
ing of  the  rules  that  term  if  he  could  help  it. 

"  But  just  think  how  full  last  term  was  crowded 
of  fun  and  excitement,  and  how  very  dull  and 
uninteresting  this  one  is  by  comparison,"  said 
Mack,  in  a  doleful  voice.  "  First  we  had  a  chase 
afcer  Huggins." 

"  That  didn't  amount  to  much,"  said  Don. 
"  It  was  soon  over." 

"  But  still  it  was  exciting  while  it  lasted.  The 
tramp  who  stole  Huggins's  money  might  have 
made  an  end  of  you  with  that  knife  of  his  if 
you  hadn't  been  a  good  swordsman.  Then  came 
the  strikes  and  the  fight  with  the  rioters  at  Ham- 
ilton Creek  bridge,  and  after  that  Enoch  Williams 
woke  us  up  with  his  runaway  expedition,  and  gave 


A    DINNER    IN   PROSPECT.  115 

us  a  chance  to  take  a  week's  sail  on  the  bay. 
What  have  we  had  to  keep  our  blood  in  motion 
this  year  ?  Not  a  tiling." 

"  Does  the  unusual  quiet  worry  you  ?  "  asked 
Don. 

"  No,  but  it  makes  me  tired.  I  am  heartily  sick 
of  this  eternal  study  and  drill,  and  I  should  like 
to  go  somewhere  and  do  something.  I  was  in 
hopes  that  your  friend  Lester  Brigham  would  be 
up  and  doing  before  this  time  ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  gone  to  sleep  like  the  rest  of  the  discontented 
ones,  and  I  don't  believe  we  shall  have  a  single 
thing  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  school  routine 
during  the  year." 

"  There  will  be  your  class  dinner  on  the  31st  of 
the  month,"  suggested  Don. 

"  But  what  does  the  class  dinner  amount  to  ?  " 
exclaimed  Mack.  ."A  lot  of  students,  following  the 
example  set  them  by  their  fathers,  who,  perhaps, 
had  no  better  way  of  passing  the  time,  hire  a  hall, 
or  get  together  in  the  dining-room  of  a  hotel  at 
Hamilton,  stuff  themselves  with  things  that  they 
might  better  let  alone,  make  a  few  speeches  in 
which  they  pledge  undying  friendship  to  one 
another,  and  when  the  term  is  ended  they  separate 


116  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  go  their  several  ways,  plunge  into  some  busi- 
ness or  profession  and  perhaps  never  think  of  the 
matter  again.  And  that  reminds  me  that  our 
committee  ought  to  report  at  the  meeting  to- 
night. Let's  go  down  and  see  if  they  have  come 
back  yet." 

The  committee  to  which  Mack  referred  was 
composed  of  three  boys  belonging  to  the  first 
class,  who  had  been  sent  up  to  Hamilton  with 
full  power  to  make  all  arrangements  for  the  com- 
ing dinner,  which  was  intended  to  be  a  grand 
affair.  More  than  that,  they  took  with  them  a 
large  package  of  notes  from  the  committee  on 
invitation,  addressed  to  prominent  citizens  of  Ham- 
ilton, including  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
61st  and  his  staff.  The  members  of  this  com- 
mittee had  just  come  from  the  depot,  and  the 
young  officers  found  them  gathered  about  the  big 
stove  in  the  hall,  making  an  informal  report  of 
their  day's  work  to  a  few  boys  in  their  own  class, 
regardless  of  the  fact  that  several  students  who 
were  members  of  other  classes  were  loitering  about 
within  earshot.  But  what  did  they  care  for  that  ? 
The  graduating  class  had  always  made  a  great  stir 
about  their  dinners,  'and  no  doubt  this  committee 


A  DINNER   IN   PROSPECT.  117 

took  unbounded  delight  in  tantalizing  their  audi- 
tors by  telling,  in  glowing  language,  of  the  good 
things  they  were  going  to  serve  up  to  their  Ham- 
ilton guests.  It  appeared  that  the  class  had  a 
goodly  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  Colonel 
Mack,  the  treasurer,  and  that  this  committee  had 
provided  for  the  spending  of  every  cent  of  it. 

"  You  can  see  for  yourself  that  this  dinner  of 
ours  will  exhaust  all  the  resources  of  the  cuisine," 
said  one  of  the  committee,  in  a  grandiloquent 
tone,  after  the  chairman  had  told  Mack  just  what 
he  and  his  companions  had  done  in  the  city  dur- 
ing the  day ;  "  and  the  decorations  of  the  ban- 
queting hall  will  be  correspondingly  rich  and  elab- 
orate." 

"  In  other  words  it  will  be  bang-up,"  observed 
the  chairman.  "  All  those  nobby  officers  of  the 
Sixty-first,  to  whom  we  presented  the  invitations 
in  person,  promised  to  be  on  hand,  and  the  colonel 
said  he  would  give  them  permission  to  appear  in 
uniform.  The  boys  said  they  wanted  us  to  make 
this  dinner  go  ahead  of  anything  that  was  ever 
heard  of  in  this  academy,  and  when  it  comes  off 
they  will  find  that  we  have  obeyed  instructions. 
It  will  be  something  to  talk  about,  and  there 


118  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

won't  be  a  hitch  anywhere.  We  told  Mr.  Taylor 
to  do  his  level  best,  and  send  all  his  bills  to  you 
as  treasurer  of  the  class,  and  he  said  it  was  all 
right." 

The  members  of  the  committee  talked  in  this 
way  until  the  mouths  of  the  boys  who  were  stand- 
ing around,  and  who  had  no  part  nor  lot  in  the 
matter,  began  to  water ;  then,  having  thoroughly 
warmed  their  fingers,  they  went  up  to  their  dor- 
mitories, and  in  a  few  minutes  the  lower  hall  was 
deserted  by  all  save  a  single  student,  who  paced 
back  and  forth  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and 
his  eyes  fastened  thoughtfully  on  the  floor.  It 
was  Wallace  Boss,  Lester  Brigham's  room-mate, 
who,  as  we  said,  had  been  "  gated "  for  thirty 
days  for  some  violation  of  the  rules. 

Boss,  who  was  now  spending  his  second  year  at 
the  academy,  was  much  such  a  fellow  as  Enoch 
said  Lester  Brigham  was — he  was  all  talk  and  no 
do.  Unfortunately  the  world  is  full  of  such  boys. 
They  make  great  calculations  concerning  the 
future,  tell  big  stories  of  the  things  they  intend 
to  do  at  no  distant  day,  and  there  they  stop. 
They  set  their  mark  high,  but  make  no  honest, 
persevering  effort  to  attain  to  the  object  of  their 


A    DINNEE   IN   PROSPECT.  119 

desires,  it  being  so  much  easier  to  think  and  plan 
than  it  is  to  act. 

Ross  had  entered  the  academy  with  the  laud- 
able determination  of  beating  every  student  there. 
He  had  assured  his  friends  before  he  left  home 
that  when  they  saw  him  again,  they  would  see 
him  wearing  an  officer's  uniform.  Not  even  a 
first  sergeant's  warrant  would  satisfy  him,  for  his 
ambition  was  to  carry  a  sword  instead  of  a  mus- 
ket. He  wanted  to  jump  from  the  ranks,  over 
the  heads  of  all  the  fellows  above  him,  and  land 
in  a  captain's  place  the  first  time  trying.  Don 
Gordon  had  proved  that  such  a  thing  could  be 
done,  for  at  the  close  of  the  last  term  he  had 
exchanged  his  musket  and  knapsack  for  the 
major's  shoulder-straps ;  but  then  Don  had 
worked  for  his  promotion,  and  that  was  some- 
thing Boss  was  not  willing  to  do.  In  less  than  a 
week  after  he  signed  the  muster-roll,  he  found 
that  he  had  been  wofully  mistaken  in  the  opinions 
he  had  formed  of  the  academy,  and  of  the  boys 
who  belonged  to  it.  The  majority  of  them  were 
quite  as  smart  as  he  was  ;  and  after  he  had  been 
"hazed  "  a  few  times  at  *'  setting  up  "  by  a  cor- 
poral who  thought  he  needed  a  little  wholesome 


120  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

discipline,  and  the  fencing-master  had  railed  at 
him  in  his  hroken  English  because  he  did  not  pay 
more  attention  to  business  during  the  hours  that 
were  devoted  to  the  broadsword  exercise,  and  some 
of  the  other  teachers  had  reported  him  for  his 
failures  in  the  recitation-room — after  all  these 
disagreeable  things  had  happened  to  him,  the 
boy's  eyes  were  opened  to  the  fact  that  the  Bridge- 
port Military  Academy  was  not  at  all  the  school 
he  had  been  looking  for ;  but  he  could  not  get 
out  of  it  with  his  father's  consent,  so  he  set  him- 
self to  work  to  get  through  the  course  with  as 
little  trouble  as  he  could.  Other  boys  openly 
declared  that  that  was  what  they  intended  to  do, 
and  they  seemed  to  get  on  quite  as  well  as  he  did. 
The  lieutenant-colonel's  uniform  was  a  very 
handsome  one,  and  Wallace  Boss  was  not  the 
only  student  who  longed  to  wear  it.  When  that 
official  appeared  in  full  dress  all  eyes  were  fast- 
ened upon  him — that  is,  all  except  those  belonging 
to  a  few  disappointed  aspirants.  These  generally 
turned  their  backs  and  made  disparaging  remarks 
about  the  uniform  and  the  boy  who  wore  it.  Koss, 
who  had  given  up  all  hope  of  wearing  that  uni- 
form, felt  very  bitter  toward  Colonel  Mack. 


A   DINNER   IN   PROSPECT.  121 

"Just  notice  that  squatty  little  jackanapes," 
he  would  often  say  to  those  around  him,  especially 
if  they  chanced  to  be  boys  of  his  own  stamp. 
"Don't  he  cut  a  pretty  figure  in  that  dress? 
Just  see  him  strut,  will  you  ?  I  should  judge  by 
the  airs  he  throws  on  that  his  father  must  be 
worth  as  much  as  a  dollar  and  a  half." 

If  Mack  had  told  Ross  and  the  other  disap- 
pointed ones  just  how  he  felt  when  he  came  out 
almost  covered  with  gold  lace,  they  would  not 
have  believed  him.  Mack,  to  quote  from  his 
friends,  was  as  "  common  as  an  old  shoe,"  and  he 
liked  to  be  comfortable. 

"  See  how  everybody  stares  at  me,"  said  he  to 
his  chum,  one  day.  "I  must  look  like  a  scare- 
crow in  these  duds." 

"  You  don't,  either,"  exclaimed  Don,  with  some 
indignation  in^his  tones.  "  You  look  splendid." 

"  Well,"  replied  Mack,  with  a  sigh  of  resigna- 
tion, "  if  they  will  give  me  back  my  old  blouse 
and  my  captain's  shoulder-straps,  they  can  keep 
their  finery,  or  give  it  to  some  one  who  appre- 
ciates it  more  than  I  do." 

Wallace  Ross  cordially  hated  these  two  boys 
simply  because  they  had  worked  their  way  to 
6 


122  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  top  of  the  ladder  while  he  was  still  stand- 
ing at  the  foot.  He  was  one  of  those  who  would 
have  been  glad  to  see  them  disgraced  before  the 
whole  school.  That  was  something  that  could 
not  be  brought  about  by  any  scheming  or  effort 
on  his  part  ;  but  he  believed  that  he  could  deeply 
wound  Colonel  Mack's  feelings,  and  through  him 
those  of  Don  Gordon.  The  conversation  he  had 
just  overheard  had  suggested  to  him  the  way. 
After  he  had  taken  a  few  turns  up  and  down  the 
hall,  revolving  the  matter  in  his  mind  all  the 
while,  his  eyebrows  began  to  relax,  then  a  trium- 
phant smile  overspread  his  face,  and  finally  he 
threw  back  his  head  and  laughed  heartily.  The 
sound  startled  him.  He  looked  hastily  up  and 
down  the  hall,  and  was  greatly  relieved  to  find 
that  there  wras  no  one  in  sight. 

"It  can  be  done,"  said  he,  to  himself,  as  he 
made  his  way  to  his  room.  "  I  just  know  it  can 
be  done  if  there  is  any  one  in  our  crowd  who  has 
brains  enough  to  manage  it,  and  if  Lester  is 
spoiling  for  a  chance  to  take  those  shoulder-straps 
down  a  peg  or  two,  as  lie  says  he  is,  he  can't  re- 
fuse to  attempt  it." 

Boss  did  not  belong  to  "our  crowd"  yet.     In 


A   DINNER   IN   PROSPECT.  123 

accordance  with  his  promise  Lester  had  said  a 
good  word  for  him  to  Enoch  and  the  rest,  not  for- 
getting to  mention  the  fact  that  Ross  had  money 
that  the  superintendent  knew  nothing  about,  that 
he  was  quite  willing  to  spend  a  portion  of  it  every 
chance  he  got,  and  Enoch  had  promised  to  re- 
member him.  He  did  remember  him  too,  every 
time  he  found  his  funds  running  low,  and  on  this 
particular  afternoon  he  and  Lester  and  a  few 
chosen  spirits  were  down  at  Cony  Ryan's,  filling 
up  on  pancakes  which  Enoch  paid  for  with  the 
dollar  he  had  borrowed  of  Ross  that  morning. 

The  latter  went  to  his  room  full  of  his  new 
idea,  and  walked  up  and  down  the  floor  with  his 
hands  behind  his  back  while  he  matured  his 
plans.  He  saw  a  thousand  and  one  difficulties  in 
his  path,  but  he  found  a  way  to  surmount  or  get 
around  every  one  of  them,  and  when  Lester  came 
in  he  was  all  ready  to  astonish  him. 

That  night  after  supper  the  boys  belonging  to 
the  first  class,  which  was  to  graduate  at  the  end 
of  the  term,  made  their  way  toward  their  recita- 
tion room  ;  and  when  they  were  all  assembled  and 
the  secretary  had  called  the  roll,  the  door  was 
locked  to  keep  out  intruders.  It  being  the  regu- 


124  THE  YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

lar  business  meeting  several  reports  were  sub- 
mitted,-but  the  one  in  which  the  students  were 
the  most  interested  was  the  one  presented  by  the 
committee  of  arrangements,  some  of  whose  mem- 
bers had  passed  the  day  in  Hamilton.  The  chair- 
man went  more  into  details  than  he  did  while  he 
was  warming  his  fingers  in  the  hall,  and  when  he 
ceased  speaking  and  had  answered  a  few  questions 
that  were  propounded  to  him  by  different  mem- 
bers of  the  class,  the  boys  told  one  another  that 
their  banquet  would  be  talked  of  when  some  of 
those  who  sat  down  to  it  were  forgotten.  After 
that  the  secretary  was  instructed  to  write  to  Mr. 
Taylor,  the  well-known  caterer,  who  had  furnished 
all  the  big  dinners  for  the  military  and  civic  socie- 
ties of  Hamilton  as  long  as  Cony  Ryan  had  sold 
pancakes  and  maple  syrup  on  the  shores  of  the 
big  pond,  and  to  Mr.  Colson,  the  proprietor  of 
Clarendon  Hall,  stating  that  the  action  of  the 
committee  was  approved  by  the  class,  and  that  if 
it  were  thought  best  to  -make  any  changes  in  the 
programme,  they  would  be  duly  informed  of  the 
fact.  When  the  motion  had  been  acted  upon,  one 
of  the  students  arose  and  said  : 

"  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  inform  the  Chair  that 


A   DINNER   IN   PROSPECT.  125 

it  has  been  handed  down  in  the  archives  of  our 
venerable  and  time-honored  institution  that,  in  the 
days  gone  by,  certain  members  of  the  second  class, 
prompted  by  the  spirit  of  discord,  undertook  to 
come  roots  on  the  graduating " 

"  The  Chair  is  unable  to  comprehend  the  gentle- 
man's language,"  interrupted  the  boy  president,  in 
a  tone  of  rebuke. 

"Mr.  Chairman,"  continued  the  student,  "I 
beg  to  recall  the  words,  and  to  state,  in  all  serious- 
ness, a  fact  which  the  gentlemen  present  may  not 
know  anything  about.  I  have  heard  my  uncle  say 
that  while  he  was  a  member  of  this  school,  he  and 
a  few  other  boys  in  his  company  undertook  to  see 
that  the  members  of  the  graduating  class  had  con- 
siderable trouble  in  eating  their  dinner  after  they 
had  provided  it ;  and  so  well  did  they  perform 
their  work,  that  it  was  more  by  good  luck  than 
good  management  that  the  dinner  was  eaten  at  all. 
How  my  honored  relative  and  his  fellow-conspira- 
tors accomplished  this,  I  don't  know.  To  be  can- 
did, he  positively  refused  to  enlighten  me  on  that 
point,  fearing,  no  doubt,  that  I  would  at  some 
time  attempt  a  similar  plot  myself ;  but  that,  sir 
(here  the  eloquent  speaker  placed  one  hand  under 


126  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

his  coat-tails  and  waved  the  other  gracefully  in  the 
air),  is  something  I  should  scorn  to  do.'' 

The  interested  listeners  all  laughed  outright 
when  they  heard  this.  A  bigger  spirit  of  mischief 
than  Bob  Walker  (that  was  the  student's  name) 
could  not  have  been  found  in  Bridgeport.  When 
he  first  entered  the  academy  he  was  in  arrest  nearly 
all  the  time,  and  everything  that  was  done  in  viola- 
tion of  the  rules  was  laid  to  his  charge.  But  that 
was  all  over  now,  and  Bob  was  the  captain  of  his 
company. 

"Now  I  don't  know,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  we  are 
in  danger  of  being  interfered  with  in  any  way," 
continued  Bob,  becoming  serious  again,  "but 
Lester  Brigham  and  Enoch  Williams  have  opened 
our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  they  can  throw  the  whole 
school  into  a  turmoil  if  they  set  about  it  in  earnest, 
and  it  might  be  well  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  There- 
fore I  suggest  that  the  secretary  be  requested  to 
incorporate  in  the  communications  he  has  been  in- 
structed to  write  to  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Colson  a 
statement  to  the  effect  that  if  any  changes  are 
made  in  the  plan  of  arrangements,  they  will  be 
duly  notified  by  a  committee,  and  not  by  letter/' 

Being  requested  to  put  his  suggestion  into  the 


A    DINNER   IN    PROSPECT.  127 

form  of  a  motion  it  was  carried,  together  with  sev- 
eral others  that  followed  close  upon  the  heels  of  it, 
all  having  the  same  ohject  in  view,  namely  :  to 
guard  against  treachery  and  outside  interference. 
When  they  got  through,  the  sharpest  of  the  stu- 
dents couldn't  think  of  a  single  thing  that  had 
been  omitted.  They  seemed  to  have  provided  for 
every  emergency. 

There  being  no  further  business  to  transact,  the 
meeting  adjourned,  and  shortly  after  the  students 
had  left  the  room,  an  orderly  came  in  and  put  out 
the  lights.  Presently  there  was  a  slight  rustling 
under  one  of  the  benches,  and  a  couple  of  dark 
forms  crept  out  into  the  aisle  and  groped  their 
way  toward  the  door,  which  they  opened  just  an 
inch  or  two,  so  that  they  could  reconnoiter  the 
lower  hall.  There  were  several  boys  in  there,  but 
they  were  gathered  about  the  stove  at  the  farther 
end,  and  when  the  two  spies  —  for  such  their 
stealthy  movements  proclaimed  them  to  be  — 
thought  they  could  do  so  without  being  observed, 
they  stepped  out  into  the  hall,  closing  the  door 
softly  behind  them,  and  made  their  way  up  the 
stairs  toward  their  dormitories. 

After  this,  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  affairs 


128  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

seemed  to  run  with  unwonted  smoothness.  The 
lazy  students  and  the  shirks  disappeared  as  if  by 
magic.  The  smart  ones  in  Enoch's  crowd  stood 
high  in  their  deportment  and  studies,  and  even 
the  dull  fellows,  like  Lester  Brigham,  astonished 
their  teachers  by  coming  into  the  recitation  rooms 
with  perfect  lessons.  It  was  a  common  saying 
among  the  boys  that  the  faculty  always  grew  good- 
natured  as  class-day  approached,  and  this  state  of 
things  made  them  smile  all  over.  Many  passes 
were  granted  for  the  31st,  and  a  few  of  the  stu- 
dents who  lived  in  Hamilton,  but  who  did  not  be- 
long to  the  graduating  class,  were  granted  permis- 
sion to  go  home  for  the  day.  The  passes  that 
were  given  to  the  others  allowed  them  to  go  no 
farther  than  the  village.  The  boys  in  the  grad- 
uating class  had  seen  no  reason  for  making  any 
changes  in  their  programme,  and  consequently  no 
special  committee  had  been  sent  to  Hamilton  ;  but 
immediately  after  breakfast  on  the  morning  of  the 
31st,  the  three  students  who  had  thus  far  done  all 
the  work  devolving  upon  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, presented  themselves  before  the  president 
of  the  class  to  receive  their  final  instructions. 
They  were  dressed  in  their  best  uniforms,  and  in 


A    DINNER    IN    PROSPECT.  129 

their  valises  they  carried  their  epaulets,  body- 
belts,  and  a  few  other  articles  of  ornament  which 
they  could  not  wear  under  their  overcoats.  They 
were  going  to  the  city.  They  wanted  to  make  sure 
that  Mr.  Taylor  had  got  the  dinner  up  in  good 
shape,  and  that  Mr.  Colson  had  made  use  of  the 
bunting  they  had  sent  him  to  decorate  Clarendon 
Hall  in  a  manner  befitting  the  occasion.  More 
than  that,  they  were  to  provide  for  the  reception 
of  their  class  at  the  railroad  depot. 

"See  everybody  yourselves,  and  take  no  one's 
word  for  anything,"  said  the  president,  earnestly. 
"  Call  on  Mr.  Taylor  and  inspect  the  dinner  as  far 
as  you  can  ;  then  go  up  to  the  hall,  give  it  a  good 
looking  over,  and  if  you  see  anything  that  don't 
suit  you,  make  it  suit  you  the  first  thing  you  do. 
Be  sure  that  the  music  is  ready,  and  telegraph  me 
as  soon  as  you  can  whether  or  not  everything  is  all 
right,  according  to  your  previous  instructions." 

"Oh,  we  shall  find  everything  all  right,"  said 
one  of  the  committee,  confidently.  "  Don't  you 
worry  about  that.  We  were  careful  to  tell  those 
men,  in  plain  language,  just  what  we  wanted,  and 
as  they  have  reputations  to  sustain,  and  know  that 
they  are  going  to  get  their  own  price  for  their 


130  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

work,  they  will  take  as  much  interest  in  having 
the  affair  go  off  smoothly  as  we  do.     Good-by. 
'A  You  will  hear  from  us  in  about  two  hours." 

\T4ie  committee  hurried  out  to  catch  the  train, 
^p,nd  the  president  went  back  to  his  room  to  give 
his  uniform  another  good  looking  over,  and  to 
make  sure  that  not  the  smallest  particle  of  dust 
had  settled  on  it  during  his  brief  absence. 

Class-day  had  always  been  observed  as  a  sort  of 
half-holiday,  and  this  one  was  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  There  was  a  little  studying  done,  and  the 
very  small  number  of  those  who  had  failed  in  their 
recitations  on  the  previous  day,  were  required  to 
make  up  for  it  before  they  could  mingle  with  their 
companions  in  the  halls  and  see  what  was  going 
on.  The  boys  in  the  first  class  were  excused  from 
duty,  and  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  make  them- 
selves look  pretty.  At  least  that  was  what  Colonel 
Mack  said. 

"You  will  have  all  this  to  go  through  with 
next  year,  Gordon,"  added  Mack.  "  Your  class 
must  make  it  a  point  to  have  an  extra  good 
dinner." 

"  What  concern  is  it  of  yours  whether  we  do  or 
not  ?  "  demanded  Don. 


A   DINNER   IN    PROSPECT.  131 

"  Why,  I  shall  be  one  of  the  alumni  then,  and 
I  expect  to  help  eat  it/'  was  Mack's  reply. 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  becoming  in  you  to  wait  until 
you  get  an  invitation  ?  "  asked  Don. 

"  Oh,  I'll  get  that,"  aswered  Mack,  confidently. 

"  From  whom,  pray  ?  " 

"From  you,  of  course." 

"No,  sir,"  said  Don,  emphatically. 

"  And  why  not  ?  Is  it  because  I  don't  invite  you 
to  go  to  Hamilton  with  me  to-day  ?  Can't  help  it, 
my  fine  fellow.  No  student,  unless  he  belongs  to 
the  graduating  class,  can  sit  down  to  a  dinner  like 
this.  That's  the  law.  It  is  unwritten,  but,  like 
the  common  law  of  England,  it's  binding." 

"  Well/'  said  Don,  speaking  seriously  this  time, 
"  I  certainly  hope  you  and  the  rest  of  the  boys 
will  see  no  end  of  pleasure.  You  have  been  look- 
ing forward  to  this  day  for  four  long  years,  and  I 
trust  it  will  pass  away  without  the  smallest  inci- 
dent to  mar  your  enjoyment." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mack.  "  The  same  to  your 
own  class-day,  when  it  arrives.  I  do  hope  there 
will  be  no  hitch  in  the  programme  ;  that  is  the 
only  thing  I  stand  in  fear  of.  It  always  puts  me 
on  nettles  when  these  formal  things  do  not  go  off 


132  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

as  they  ought.  I  feel  like  sneaking  out  and  hid- 
ing myself.  It  would  be  just  awful  if  anything 
should  happen  to-night,  for  we  have  received 
favorable  replies  from  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
invited  guests — Come  in,"  he  cried,  in  response 
to  a  knock  at  the  door. 

"  I'll  do  it,"  answered  the  cheery  voice  of  the 
president,  who  entered  the  room,  carrying  a  brown 
envelope  in  his  hand.  "I  feel  better,"  he  con- 
tinued, as  he  helped -himself  to  a  seat  on  the  sofa 
beside  Don.  "  Here's  a  dispatch  from  Blake,  and 
he  says  that  everything  is  0.  K.  That  means  that 
the  dinner  could  not  be  improved,  that  the  hall 
looks  just  as  it  should,  and  that  the  band  will  be 
at  the  depot  to  meet  us.  Could  anything  be  more 
satisfactory  ?  " 

Colonel  Mack  and  his  chum  thought  not.  The 
dinner  was  really  a  big  undertaking,  there  were 
many  chances  for  unpleasant  and  even  disagreeable 
things  to  happen,  and  it  was  very  gratifying  to 
them  to  receive  the  assurance  from  those  who 
were  on  the  ground  that  their  plans  were  working 
smoothly. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A     SURPRISE. 

rriHERE  were  two  passenger  trains  that  passed 
?r-  through  Bridgeport  e.vcry  afternoon  going 
toward  Hamilton,  one  being  the  regular  mail, 
which  was  due  at  five  o'clock,  and  returning,  left 
the  city  at  four  in  the  morning.  This  was  the 
train  the  graduating  class  intended  to  take,  the 
committee  having  chartered  two  extra  cars  to 
accommodate  the  members.  The  other  was  the 
lightning  express,  which  passed  through  the  vil- 
lage at  one  o'clock,  and  returned  at  four  in  the 
morning.  This  was  the  train  on  which  they  were 
to  come  back.  We  mention  these  facts  to  assist 
us  in  explaining  some  unexpected  and  astounding 
incidents  which  happened  in  connection  with  this 
particular  dinner. 

The  boys  in  the  first  class  were  impatient,  as 
live  boys  always  are  when  they  are  waiting  for 


134  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

something,  and  after  they  had  got  into  their  best 
uniforms,  they  hardly  knew  what  to  do  with  them- 
selves. Some  of  the  very  uneasy  ones  strolled 
about  the  buildings  and  grounds  in  companies  of 
twos  and  threes,  while  others,  and  these  were  the 
'fellows  who  had  the  most  self-control,  read  away  the 
time  in  the  library.  Here  and  there,  as  far  away 
from  his  companions  as  he  could  get,  might  have 
been  seen  a  student  who  was  walking  about  with 
rather  an  abstracted  air,  now  and  then  giving  his 
hand  a  flourish,  and  all  unconscious  of  the  fact 
that  every  one  of  his  movements  was  observed 
and  commented  upon  by  interested  spectators, 
who  would  be  sure  to  laugh  at  him  afterward. 
These  were  the  boys  who  were  expected  to  pro- 
pose and  reply  to  some  of  the  toasts  of  the 
evening. 

The  hours  dragged  their  weary  length  away, 
and  at  last  a  sergeant  appeared  upon  the  steps 
and  roared  out  the  command  for  the  first  company 
to  fall  in.  Almost  before  he  opened  his  lips  there 
was  a  rush  made  for  the  armory,  and  when  Cap- 
tain Walker  led  his  company  into  it,  with  Colonel 
Mack  marching  in  the  ranks  like  any  private,  he 
found  all  the  students  assembled  to  see  him  off — 


A   SURPRISE.  135 

that  is,  all  those  about  the  building  who  were  not 
on  duty.  Eighty  or  more  boys  were  out  on  leaves 
of  absence  for  the  day. 

There  were  no  pale  and  anxious  faces  among  the 
young  soldiers  now  as  there  were  the  last  time  a 
company  was  marched  out  of  that  same  armory  to 
go  to  Hamilton  ;  for  these  boys  were  not  armed, 
and  neither  were  they  going  to  the  city  to  encounter 
an  infuriated  mob  who  would  welcome  them  with 
a  shower  of  coupling-pins  and  brickbats.  They 
were  going  to — well,  they  expected  a  very  different 
sort  of  reception.  They  got  it,  too,  but  after  all 
it  was  not  just  such  a  one  as  they  had  confidently 
looked  for. 

Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  company 
moved  out  of  the  armory,  and,  led  by  the  band, 
took  up  its  line  of  march  for  the  depot,  the  four 
dignified  professors,  who  were  to  represent  the 
faculty  at  the  coming  banquet,  riding  sedately  at 
a  respectful  distance  in  a  close  carriage.  When 
the  ponderous  iron  gates  closed  behind  the  com- 
pany, Don  Gordon,  for  the  first  time,  found  him- 
self in  command  of  the  academy  battalion.  Before 
twenty-four  hours  more  had  passed  over  his  head, 
he  declared,  with  much  gesticulation  'and  many 


136  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

expletives,  that  if  he  had  possessed  the  full 
powers  of  a  military  commander  he  would  have 
court-martialed  and  hanged  a  score  or  more  of 
fellows,  who  that  night  performed  an  exploit  that 
astonished  everybody.  It  did  more ;  it  struck 
everybody  motionless  and  speechless  with  amaze- 
ment, and,  what  was  rather  singular,  the  partic- 
ulars of  it  had  the  same  effect  upon  all  who  heard 
them.  The  listener  first  looked  and  acted  as  if  he 
could  not  believe  the  evidence  of  his  senses,  and 
then  threw  back  his  head  and  gave  expression  to 
his  feelings  in  a  hearty  peal  of  merriment.  Even 
Don  Gordon,  angry  as  he  was,  rolled  on  his  bed 
and  laughed  until  his  sides  ached  and  his  eyes 
were  filled  with  tears. 

The  students  enjoyed  their  ride  to  Hamilton, 
and  made  noise  enough  for  so  many  veteran 
soldiers.  When  the  train  approached  the  city 
limits  they  quieted  down,  drew  on  their  white 
gloves,  picked  up  their  valises,  and  held  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  disembark  as  soon  as  they 
received  the  word  of  command. 

"Dayton,"  said  Captain  Walker  to  his  first 
lieutenant,  "  you  get  the  boys  out  of  the  cars,  and 
I  will  go  with  Mack  and  the  president  to  hunt  up 


A   SURPRISE.  137 

Blake  and  see  where  the  music  is.  As  soon  as  I 
find  it,  I  will«eorne  back  to  you." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  have  been  the 
right  thing  for  that  band  to  pipe  up  as  soon  as 
our  train  came  within  sight  of  the  depot,"  observed 
Dayton.  "  We  pay  them  for  blowing  for  us,  and 
we  want  to  get  all  the  music  we  can  out  of  them. 
They  ought  to  give  us  our  money's  worth  ;  doesn't 
it  strike  you  that  way  ?  " 

Captain  Walker  said  it  did,  adding  that  he 
thought  there  was  something  strange  about  it. 
Colonel  Mack  and  the  anxious  president  thought 
and  said  the  same.  Looking  out  at  the  car  win- 
dows as  the  train  moved  slowly  into  the  depot, 
they  could  see  that  there  were  many  people  moving 
about,  but  there  was  not  a  cadet  gray  or  a  union 
blue  overcoat  in  sight ;  and  the  big  building, 
which  ought  to  have  been  resounding  to  the  enliv- 
ening strains  of  martial  music,  echoed  only  to  the 
murmur  of  voices  and  the  tread  of  hurrying  feet. 

"  I  don't  understand  this  matter  at  all,"  ex- 
claimed the  president,  as  he  and  his  two  com- 
panions sprang  from  the  car  and  looked  around 
for  the  faithful  and  energetic  chairman  of  the 
committee  of  arrangements. 


138  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  There's  something  wrong,"  observed  Mack, 
who  had  a  way  of  looking  disagreeable  things  in 
the  face. 

"  For  goodness  sake,  don't  say  that,"  replied 
Captain  Walker,  whose  countenance  had  assumed 
a  very  serious  expression  during  the  last  few 
minutes. 

"  Well,  then,  where  is  Blake  ?  "  demanded  Mack. 
"  You  never  knew  him  to  slip  up  like  this  before, 
did  you  ?  It  is  true  that  committees  and  bands 
of  music  have  been  behind  time  before  to-day,  but 
somehow " 

Mack  did  not  finish  the  sentence,  but  what  he 
didn't  say  was  much  more  expressive  than  what 
he  did  say.  With  one  accord  the  three  boys  hur- 
ried toward  the  waiting-room.  The  first  familiar 
face  they  saw  as  they  entered  it  was  that  of  one 
of  the  "  nobby  "  staff  officers  of  the  Sixty-first — 
one  of  the  hundred  and  fifty  who  had  returned 
a  favorable  reply  to  their  invitation.  The  boys 
thought  it  high  time  he  was  in  uniform  if  he 
intended  to  help  them  eat  their  dinner,  but  here 
he  was  in  citizen's  clothes  !  and  the  papers  and 
blank-books  he  carried  in  his  hand  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  he  was  attending  to  business.  When  he 


A   SURPRISE.  139 

• 

saw  Mack  and  his  companions  approaching,  he 
stopped  and  looked  at  them  in  the  greatest  aston- 
ishment. 

"  How  does  this  come,  colonel  ?  "  said  he,  as 
he  took  Mack's  outstretched  hand,  and  shook  it 
cordially.  "  You're  left,  as  sure  as  the  world." 

"  Left !  "  repeated  Mack.  "  I  don't  know  what 
you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  mean  that  you  won't  eat  any  class 
dinner  to-night,"  answered  the  staff-officer,  glanc- 
ing at  his  watch.  "  It  is.  set  for  seven  o'clock, 
and  here  it  is  half-past  six  already." 

"  You  mean  that  it  was  set  for  eight  o'clock," 
the  president  ventured  to  suggest,  while  a  very 
dim  conception  of  the  situation  began  to  creep 
into  Mack's  mind. 

"No,  seven,"  insisted  the  officer,  "and  that's 
the  reason  I  couldn't  attend  as  I  had  hoped  to  do. 
Your  committee  didn't  notify  me  of  the  change  in 
the  time  until  it  was  too  late  for  me  to  make 
arrangements." 

An  expression  of  the  greatest  consternation 
overspread  the  faces  of  Mack's  two  companions. 
The  latter  shut  his  teeth  hard,  and  spoke  with  a 
calmness  that  surprised  himself. 


140  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"What  kind  of  a  looking  crowd  was  it  who 
notified  you  of  a  change  in  our  programme  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"  Oh,  it  was  a  good-looking  committee — sharp, 
bright  fellows  ;  and  I  think,  on  the  whole,  that 
they  would  compare  very  favorably  with  the 
cadets  I  see  before  me,"  answered  the  officer,  with 
a  smile.  "  They  got  the  dinner  to  the  transfer 
depot  all  right,  and  made  a  very  pretty  appear- 
ance as  they  marched  through  the  city,  led  by  our 
favorite  cornet  band.  But  how  in  the  world  are 
you  boys  going  to  get  to  Bordentown  ?  There's 
no  train  before  midnight,  and  the  fastest  horse  in 
Hamilton  could  not  take  you  over  there  in  time 
to — Why,  colonel,  what's  the  trouble  ? "  ex- 
claimed the  officer ;  for  Mack  had  darted  away  at 
the  top  of  his  speed  toward  the  telegraph  office. 
"  I  declare  I  believe  it's  a  beat." 

"  You  may  well  say  that,"  replied  Captain 
Walker,  as  he  and  the  president  ran  after  Mack. 
"  If  the  Sixty-first  is  sent  for  to-morrow  to  quell 
a  riot  at  the  academy  you  need  not  be  at  all  sur- 
prised." 

"  I  want  to  send  off  a  dispatch,"  shouted  Colo- 
nel Mack,  as  he  rushed  into  the  telegraph  office, 


A   SURPRISE. 

and  stamped  up  and  down  the  floor,  swinging  his 
fists  in  the  air.  "Hurry  up.  I'll  write  it  out 
afterward." 

The  boy,  who  happened  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
office,  no  doubt  thought  that  the  intruder  had 
gone  crazy  all  on  a  sudden  ;  but  he  sat  down  to 
his  desk  without  making  any  comments,  and  told 
the  excited  young  colonel  to  go  ahead. 

"J.  H.  Taylor,  Bordentown,"  shrieked  the 
telegraph,  following  Mack's  hurried  and  rather 
incoherent  dictation.  "  Stop  that  dinner  ;  it  is  a 
fraud.  Choke  off  those  boys.  Kick  them  out  of 
doors.  The  whole  thing  is  an  outrageous  swin- 
dle." 

While  Mack  was  wondering  what  earthly  good 
it  would  do  him  and  the  rest  of  the  boys  if  these 
instructions  were  obeyed,  he  dictated  another  dis- 
patch to  his  friend  Don  Gordon,  which  ran  as 
follows  : 

"  That  villain  Lester  Brigham  has  got  the 
weather-gauge  of  us.  He  and  his  crowd  have 
stolen  our  dinner  and  carried  it  off  to  Bordentown 
with  the  intention  of  eating  it  themselves." 

By  this  time  Mack  had  so  far  recovered  from 
his  rage  and  excitement  that  he  could  write  out 


142  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

and  pay  for  these  two  dispatches,  after  which  he 
went  down  stairs  to  see  what  the  class  thought 
about  it.  The  members  had  broken  ranks  and 
were  gathered  in  a  body  around  their  captain  and 
president,  who  had  just  brought  tbem  the  news. 
If  we  were  to  say  that  they  were  amazed  and 
angry,  we  should  not  begin  to  tell  how  they  felt. 
As  they  could  not  say  anything  that  would  do 
the  subject  justice,  the  most  of  them  kept  still  ; 
but  they  clenched  their  fists  and  nodded  their 
heads  at  one  another,  and  if  Lester  and  his  crowd 
had  been  within  reach  at  that  moment,  it  is 
doubtful  if  their  officers  could  have  restrained 
them. 

"  I  would  give  up  my  chances  for  graduating  at 
the  end  of  the  term,  if  I  could  have  just  one 
minute's  private  interview  with  Lester  Brigham," 
said  one  of  the  students,  who  was  walking  about 
wringing  his  hands  as  if  he  were  in  great  bodily 
distress.  "I  don't  think  his  mother  would  know 
him  when  I  got  through  with  him." 

"  I  wish  there  was  some  way  for  us  to  get  to 
Bordentown,"  exclaimed  another.  "  Wouldn't  we 
drive  those  fellows  away  from  that  table  and  out 
of  the  windows  in  short  order  ?  Great  Scott ! 


A   SURPRISE.  143 

Just  think  how  many  of  our  friends  have  traveled 
hundreds  of  miles  at  our  invitation,  only  to  be 
disappointed  ! " 

These  words  drove  even  the  cool-headed  ones 
among  the  students  almost  frantic.  There  was 
no  loud  talking,  no  riotous  demonstration,  and  a 
stranger  might  have  passed  close  by  them  without 
knowing,  from  their  words  and  actions,  that  there 
was  anything  the  matter  with  them.  The  mili- 
tary discipline  to  which  they  had  so  long  been 
subjected,  restrained  them  in  some  measure  ;  and 
besides,  as  much  as  they  wanted  to  fight,  they 
could  see  nothing  to  oppose  them.  If  Lester 
and  his  company  of  adherents  had  entered  the 
depot  at  that  moment,  it  is  probable  that  the  sight 
would  have  had  a  very  demoralizing  effect  upon 
them.  Just  then  one  of  their  number,  who  had 
been  holding  an  earnest  conversation  with  one  of 
the  railroad  men,  came  hurrying  up. 

"  I  say,  fellows,"  he  exclaimed,  "  if  Lester  and 
his  party  leave  Bordentown  at  all  during  the 
next  twelve  hours,  they  will  have  to  take  the  three 
o'clock  train,  which  will  bring  them  in  here  in 
time  for  the  lightning  express." 

"  Good  !  "    cried   all    the  boys,   in  a    breath. 


144  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

That  was  all  they  said,  but  it  was  plain  that  they 
understood  one  another.  Their  captain,  who 
happened  to  overhear  these  remarks,  understood 
them  also,  and  he  at  once  hurried  away  to  lay  the 
matter  before  his  superior  officer. 

"  Look  here,  Mack,"  said  he,  in  a  suppressed 
whisper.  "There  wjjl  be  the  very  mischief  to  pay 
if  we  don't  get  out  of  here  before  four  o'clock. 
The  boys  expect  Lester  and  his  party  to  return 
from  Bordentown  at  that  hour,  and  they  have 
made  up  their  minds  to  give  them  a  good  pound- 
ing." 

"That  would  never  do — never  in  the  world," 
replied  Mack,  in  a  tone  of  anxiety.  "  Such  a 
high-handed  proceeding  on  the  part  of  the  mem- 
bers of  our  class  would  be  an  everlasting  disgrace 
to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  school.  We'll  nip  that 
little  arrangement  in  the  bud.  It  will  make  the 
boys  mad  at  us  at  first,  but  they  will  thank  us  for 
it  after  they  have  had  time  to  cool  off  a  little. 
I,  for  one,  am  not  half  as  angry  as  I  was  a  few 
minutes  ago,  and,  now  that  I  think  of  it,  it  was  a 
pretty  sharp  trick  on  Lester's  part,  and  we  have 
all  seen  the  time  when  we  would  have  done  the 
same  thing,  if  we  had  been  bright  enough  to  think 


A   SURPRISE.  145 

of  it.  I'll  warrant  that  Don  Gordon  is  laughing 
fit  to  split,  and  that  he  feels  like  punching  his 
own  head  because  he  did  not  propose  something 
of  the  kind  when  he  was  running  with  Tom 
Fisher  and  that  crowd.  But  we  can't  have  a  free 
fight  here  in  the  depot,  and  we  won't,  either. 
Now,  Walker,  you  stay  here,  and  don't  allow  a 
single  boy  out  of  your  sight  until  we  come  back. 
The  president  and  I  are  going  up  to  the  hotel  to 
talk  to  the  superintendent  about  it,  and  while  we 
are  gone,  you  must  be  very  careful  what  you  say 
in  the  hearing  of  the  boys.  Some  of  them  are 
too  highly  exasperated  to  be  reasonable,  and  if 
they  should  find  out  that  they  are  not  to  be 
allowed  the  privilege  of  fighting  Lester  and  his 
men,  they  would  slip  out  into  the  city  and  lie  in 
wait  for  them.  If  they  begin  to  act  in  a  way  to 
arouse  your  suspicions,  order  the  last  one  of  them 
into  our  two  cars,  and  keep  them  there  until  we 
return." 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  replied  Captain  Walker, 
raising  his  hand  to  his  cap.  "  But  between  you 
and  me,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  tone,  "I  really 
wish  our  boys  could  interview  Lester  and  his 
party  before  we  go  back  to  the  Academy." 
7 


146  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  It  is  about  the  neatest  trick  I  ever  heard  of," 
said  Colonel  Mack,  as  he  and  the  president  hur- 
ried away  to  pour  their  sorrows  into  the  sympa- 
thizing ear  of  the  superintendent,  and  to  tell  him 
of  the  plot  the  first-class  boys  had  entered  into  to 
take  summary  vengeance  upon  the  despoilers  of 
their  feast  when  they  came  in  on  the  Bordentown 
train.  "  Those  fellows  must  be  as  well  posted  in 
our  plans  as  we  are." 

"  Of  course  they  are,"  was  the  reply.  "  Other- 
wise they  could  not  have  sent  me  that  telegram 
which  purported  to  come  from  Blake,  and  which 
assured  me  that  everything  was  '  0.  K/  " 

"  That's  so ;  where  in  the  world  is  Blake 
now  ?  "  exclaimed  Mack  ;  and  apparently  forget- 
ting that  Blake  was  the  very  boy  they  had  been 
wishing  for  ever  since  the  train  came  into  the 
depot,  he  and  the  president  stopped  in  their  hur- 
ried walk  and  looked  all  around  in  search  of  him. 
"  Say,"  added  Mack,  a  moment  later,  "  I  have  my 
own  ideas  regarding  the  manner  in  which  this 
trick  was  sprung  upon  us " 

"  So  have  I,"  interrupted  the  president. 

"  And  I  want  you  to  remember  what  I  say/' 
continued  Mack.  "  When  we  get  to  the  bottom 


A   SURPRISE.  147 

of  this  day's  work,  you  will  hear  some  things  that 
will  make  you  open  your  eyes.  What  do  you  see 
to  interest  you  so  much  ?  " 

Receiving  no  reply  from  his  companion,  who, 
having  come  to  a  sudden  halt,  was  shading  his 
eyes  with  his  hand  and  gazing  intently  at  some 
object  he  saw  in  the  distance,  Mack  also  stopped, 
and  looked  in  the  same  direction.  Before  him 
was  the  river,  along  whose  banks  ran  Hamilton's 
principal  business  street.  Near  the  head  of  it 
was  the  hotel  toward  which  they  were  hastening, 
and  a  short  distance  farther  on  stood  the  transfer- 
depot.  All  the  passengers  who  came  in  on  the 
main  road,  and  who  were  bound  for  Bordentown 
or  points  farther  north,  were  conveyed  from  one 
depot  to  the  other  by  an  omnibus  line,  while  the 
luggage  and  freight  were  taken  over  on  drays. 

Directly  in  front  of  the  transfer-depot  was  the 
bridge  that  crossed  the  river,  and  beyond  it,  for 
three  miles  at  least,  the  track  was  almost  as 
straight  as  an  arrow.  The  boys  could  plainly  see 
every  rod  of  it  from  where  they  stood.  As  Mack 
looked  up  he  saw,  coming  into  view  around  the 
first  bend  in  the  road,  a  locomotive  which  seemed 
to  be  moving  with  terrific  speed.  Mack  didn't 


148  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

see  anything  surprising  in  that,  not  even  after  he 
had  taken  a  second  look,  and  discovered  that  the 
engine  was  drawing  a  couple  of  flat  cars  that 
were  heavily  loaded  with  something  ;  and  it  did 
not  take  him  long  to  tell  his  companion  so. 

"  I  know  that  a  wild-cat  train  is  not  an  unusual 
sight/'  exclaimed  the  latter,  "  but  something  tells 
me  that  we  are  interested  in  the  one  we  see  before 
us.  Just  as  you  spoke,  I  saw  a  momentary  flash 
in  the  engineer's  cab,  and  I'll  bet  it  was  the 
reflection  from  a  breast-buckle." 

"  Reflection  of  what  ?  "  demanded  Mack. 

"  Why,  light,  of  course." 

"  That's  a  good  one.  Why,  man  alive,  if  there 
was  a  breast-buckle  in  the  cab,  where  is  the  light 
for  it  to  reflect  ?  The  sun  was  hidden  by  those 
clouds  an  hour  ago." 

"I  don't  care  if  it  was,"  said  the  president, 
decidedly.  "  Isn't  the  cab  lighted  up  when  the 
fireman  opens  the  door  to  replenish  the  furnace  ? 
There  !  What  do  you  say  to  that  ?  " 

Mack  was  so  bewildered  that  he  did  not  know 
what  to  say  regarding  some  of  the  extraordinary 
things  that  happened  during  the  next  few  seconds. 
First,  the  engineer  -whistled  for  the  bridge,  and 


SURPRISE.  149 

then  for  the  station,  but  he  did  not  "  slow  down," 
as  he  would  have  done  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances. He  kept  on  at  full  speed,  and  this 
seemed  to  indicate  that  he  was  in  a  hurry.  As 
the  train  drew  nearer,  the  dense  mass  on  the 
forward  flat  began  to  assume  forms  and  shapes, 
and  then  Mack  saw  that  it  was  composed  of  many 
different  bodies,  and  that  they  were  all  in  motion. 
Very  soon  these  different  bodies  began  to  assume 
color  as  well  as  form,  some  showing  blue  and  the 
others  gray.  Before  Mack  could  give  utterance 
to  the  words  of  astonishment  that  rose  to  his  lips, 
he  heard  the  warning  notes  of  a  bugle,  such  as 
the  leader  of  a  band  gives  when  he  desires  to  call 
the  attention  of  his  men,  and  an  instant  after- 
ward the  cheering  strains  of  a  triumphal  march 
came  floating  across  the  river.  If  ever  a  band 
tried  to  talk,  this  one  did.  Its  music  gave  the 
listening  boys  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  situation, 
and,  as  they  afterwards  declared,  there  was  a 
whole  column  of  good  news  in  every  note  that 
came  from  its  instruments. 

Mack  and  his  companion  looked  wonderingly  at 
each  other  for  a  moment,  and  then  they  looked  at 
the  train  again.  Two  objects,  which  bore  some 


150  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

resemblance  to  huge  umbrellas,  had  been  raised 
from  the  middle  of  the  crowd  on  the  forward  flat, 
and  were  now  slowly  unrolling  themselves.  The 
first  that  was  given  to  the  breeze  was  the  Star 
Spangled  Banner,  and  the  one  that  floated  along- 
side of  it  was  the  white  silk  flag  that  bore  the 
monogram  of  the  Bridgeport  Military  Academy. 

"  What  do  you  say  now  ?  "  repeated  the  presi- 
dent, as  soon  as  he  could  speak.  "  Blake  and  the 
other  two  members  of  the  committee  have  stolen 
a  march  on  Lester  as  sure  as  the  world.'' 

Mack  thought  so  too,  but  he  had  never  dreamed 
of  such  good  luck,  and  he  wanted  somebody  to 
confirm  him  in  his  opinion. 

"  Do  you  really  believe  that  they  have  brought 
our  dinner  back  to  us  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  know  it,"  was  the  emphatic  response. 

"And  can  we  serve  it  up  to  our  guests,  and 
have  everything  go  off  just  as  we  planned  it  ?  " 
continued  Mack. 

"Of  course — that's  the  very  idea,"  said  the 
president,  encouragingly. 

"  But  how  in  the  name  of  all  that's  wonderful 
could  Blake,  with  only  two  men  at  his  back,  get 
the  better  of  Lester  and  Enoch  and  such  a  crowd 


A    SURPRISE.  151 

as  they  had  with  them  ?  "  inquired  Mack,  who, 
although  he  firmly  believed  that  Blake  had  done 
that  very  thing,  could  not,  for  the  life  of  him, 
imagine  how  he  had  done  it.  "  There  must  have 
been  at  least  thirty  or  forty  fellows  in  Lester's 
party,  and  I  shouldn't  think  they  would  permit 
themselves  to  be  balked  at  the  very  last  minute. 
Having  got  safely  off  with  the  dinner,  why  didn't 
they  holdfast  to  it?" 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that,"  answered 
the  president.  "  But  that  is  our  dinner  on  the 
rear  flat,  covered  up  with  a  tarpaulin,  and  I  am 
positive  of  it.  Now,  what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  Let's  first  make  sure  that  we  are  right  in  our 
suppositions,  and  then  we  will  go  to  work  and 
cany  out  our  programme,"  replied  Mack.  "  It 
really  looks  to  me  as  though  things  were  working 
in  our  favor,  in  spite  of  all  Lester's  efforts  to  pre- 
vent it ;  but  if  we  should  be  disappointed  afterall — " 

The  president  hastened  to  assure  his  companion 
that  they  were  not  going  to  be  disappointed,  and, 
in  order  to  satisfy  himself  on  that  point  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment,  he  set  out  for  the  depot 
at  the  top  of  his  speed,  Mack  following  close  at 
his  heels.  The  train  had  by  this  time  crossed  the 


152  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

bridge,  and  as  it  disappeared  through  one  of  the 
huge  doorways,  a  shout  arose  from  the  inside  of 
the  building — a  shout  so  loud  that  it  effectually 
drowned  the  music  of  the  band.  The  boys  were 
greatly  astonished  at  this,  but  they  were  so  im- 
patient to  find  some  one  who  could  explain  every- 
thing to  them,  that  they  did  not  stop  to  ask  each 
other  any  questions.  They  kept  on  with  increased 
speed,  and  when  they  dashed  into  the  depot,  they 
found  that  the  noisy  greeting  they  had  heard  came 
from  a  company  of  railroad  men,  assisted  by  a  crowd 
of  professional  hangers-on — men  and  boys  who  al- 
ways run  to  the  station  whenever  they  hear  the 
whistle  of  an  approaching  train. 

The  most  of  these  men  and  boys  had  seen  Lester 
and  his  company  when  they  marched  through  the 
city  that  morning,  led  by  the  band,  and,  at  the 
time,  they  thought  that  everything  was  just  as  it 
should  be — that  Lester  and  the  rest  were  first-class 
boys,  as  they  pretended  to  be,  and  that  they  had  a 
right  to  the  good  things  which  Mr.  Taylor  had  so 
carefully  prepared,  and  which  were  following  be- 
hind them,  loaded  on  drays  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
the  afternoon  train  came  in,  bringing  Captain 
Walker  and  his  men,  that  the  citizens  of  Haniil- 


A   SURPRISE.  153 

ton  learned  how  neatly  the  members  of  the  grad- 
uating class  had  been  outwitted.  Some  of  them 
laughed,  and  said  that  it  served  the  young  up- 
starts just  right  (the  boys  in  the  first  class  did 
throw  on  a  good  deal  of  style,  as  a  general  thing), 
while  others  could  not  have  been  more  exasperated 
if  they  had  been  personally  interested  in  the  mat- 
ter. They  knew,  too,  of  the  steps  that  Blake  had 
taken  to  turn  the  tables  on  those  who  had  made 
off  with  the  dinner  (we  shall  tell  all  about  it 
presently),  and  when  the  triumphant  strains  of 
the  band  told  them  that  the  quick-witted  fellow 
had  been  successful  in  his  endeavors,  they  could 
not  resist  the  impulse  to  cheer  him.  Blake  was 
the  first  -boy  who  sprang  out  of  the  engineer's  cab 
to  greet  Mack  and  his  companion. 

"  Oh,  fellows,"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  extended  a 
hand  to  each  of  them.  "  Would  you  believe " 

"  We  know  all  about  it,  and  are  ready  to  believe 
almost  anything,"  interrupted  Mack.  "  But  how 
did  you  get  the  dinner  back  ?  That's  what  we 
should  like  to  have  you  explain." 

"  Can't  stop  to  do  it  now — story's  too  long,"  an- 
swered Blake,  hurriedly,  at  the  same  time  pulling 
out  his  watch.  "  But  this  much  I  can  say  to  you  : 


154  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

We've  not  a  single  instant  to  lose,  but  if  we  work 
fast  and  don't  get  in  one  another's  way,  we  can 
make  the  dinner  go  off  as  if  nothing  had  happened." 

"  Blake,  you  deserve  a  commission,"  exclaimed 
the  president. 

"  That's  what  I  think,"  was  the  modest  reply. 
"  By  the  way,  where  is  the  company  ?  " 

"  Down  to  the  other  depot." 

"All  mad,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  That's  not  the  word  to  use ;  they  are  more 
than  mad.  I  hope  you  have  not  brought  Lester 
or  any  of  his  crowd  back  with  you." 

"  Not  by  a  long  shot,"  answered  Blake,  with  a 
laugh.  "We  did  not  want  to  see  them  whipped. 
Now,  you  two  get  an  omnibus,  put  the  band  into 
it  and  go  down  and  march  up  the  company.  Leave 
the  rest  to  me.  The  hall  will  be  ready  by  the  time 
you  get  there." 

Blake  had  given  abundant  proof  that  he  was 
equal  to  any  emergency,  and  consequently  Mack 
and  his  companion  did  not  linger  to  offer  advice  or 
assistance.  They  found  an  omnibus  and  an  ex- 
press wagon,  and  as  soon  as  the  band  had  been 
crowded  into  them,  the  vehicles  were  driven  at  full 
speed  toward  the  lower  depot. 


L 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

A    DESPERATE    UNDEKTAKING. 

EAVING  Mack  and  his  companions  to  won- 
der at  Blake's  skill  and  cunning,  and  to 
rejoice  over  the  unexpected  return  of  their  dinner, 
let  us  go  back  to  Lester  Brigham,  whom  we  left 
locked  in  his  dormitory  in  company  with  his  friend, 
Wallace  Ross. 

If  the  reader  will  recall  the  conversation  that 
took  place  at  Cony  Ryan's  that  afternoon,  he  can 
readily  imagine  that  Lester  was  in  just  the  right 
mood  to  do  something  desperate.  Cony  had  inti- 
mated very  plainly  that  he  was  a  boy  of  one  idea, 
and  had  also  given  it  as  his  opinion  that,  although 
Lester  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  his  set  (we 
know  he  wasn't ;  he  was  only  the  tool),  he  was 
totally  unfit  for  the  position.  This  made  Lester 
so  angry  that  he  declared  he  would  not  eat  any 
more  pancakes  in  Cony's  house.  He  would  do 


156  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

something  to  prove  that  lie  was  not  a  boy  of  one 
idea,  and  it  would  be  something  that  would  not 
put  a  red  cent  into  Cony's  pocket.  He  would 
teach  that  enterprising  landlord  that  it  wasn't 
policy  to  rail  at  a  good  customer  because  he  did 
not  run  the  guard  every  night ;  but  what  should 
he  do  ?  That  was  the  question.  His  companions 
expected  him  to  get  up  something  that  would 
afford  them  plenty  of  fun  and  excitement,  but  they 
might  as  well  have  told  him  to  plan  an  expedition 
to  the  North  Pole,  for  Lester's  mind  was  utterly 
barren  of  ideas.  Just  in  the  nick  of  time,  however, 
his  room-mate  came  to  his  assistance,  and  Lester's 
reputation  was  saved. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  will  think  of  my  plan," 
said  Boss,  after  he  had  closed  and  locked  the  door, 
"  but  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  I  have  got  hold  of 
something  that  will  create  a  bigger  uproar  than 
your  runaway  expedition  did.  You  know  that  the 
boys  in  the  first  class  are  talking  of  having  a  din- 
ner on  the  31st.  They  have  invited  a  good  many 
guests,  and  intend  to  make  it  a  grand  affair  ;  but 
I  should  like  to  see  the  whole  thing  knocked  into 
a  cocked  hat.  I  propose  that  we  get  a  party  of 


A    DESPERATE    UNDERTAKING.  157 

good  fellows  together,  and  go  up  to  the  city  and 
eat  the  dinner  ourselves." 

"  Humph  !  "  exclaimed  Lester,  who  was  greatly 
disappointed.  "  Is  that  all  you  have  to  offer  ?  I 
thought  from  the  way  you  acted  when  I  came  in 
that  you  had  some  grand  idea  in  your  head." 

"  Don't  you  call  that  a  grand  idea  ?  "  demanded 
Boss. 

"  No,  I  don't,"  snapped  Lester,  who  was  inclined 
to  be  angry  as  well  as  disappointed.  "  I  think  it 
would  be  a  very  tame  undertaking.  The  boys 
would  hoot  at  me  if  I  should  suggest  it." 

"  Tame  ! "  echoed  Ross.  "  Look  here,  Lester  ; 
you  don't  understand  the  matter  at  all.  It  would 
be  a  much  more  dangerous  exploit  than  running 
off  with  a  private  yacht,  for  if  the  boys  in  the  first 
class  should  find  out  that  you  thought  of  inter- 
fering with  them  in  any  way,  they  would  give  you 
such  a  thrashing  that  you  wouldn't  get  over  ifc  in 
a  month.  You  must  know  that  there  are  a  lot  of 
prominent  men  invited  to  this  dinner,  and  if  any- 
thing should  happen,  just  think  how  deeply  morti- 
fied Mack  and  all  the  rest  of  them  would  be  !  " 

.Lester  began  to  prick  up  his  ears  now,  and  to 
listen  with  some  interest  while  Ross  went  on  to 


158  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

repeat  the  conversation  he  had  overheard  in  the  hull, 
when  the  committee  of  arrangements  were  warm- 
ing their  fingers  at  the  stove,  and  to  unfold  the 
details  of  the  scheme  he  had  matured  while  await- 
ing Lester's  return  from  Cony  Ryan's.  The  longer 
Lester  listened,  the  less  inclined  did  he  become  to 
take  part  in  it.  His  room-mate's  idea  could  not 
be  carried  out,  he  was  quite  sure  of  that,  because 
there  were  too  many  difficulties  and  altogether  too 
much  danger  in  the  way  ;  still  he  could  propose  it 
to  Enoch,  and  when  the  latter  refused  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  it,  as  of  course  he  would  the 
minute  the  matter  was  fully  explained  to  him, 
Lester  could  say  that  he  had  kept  his  promise — 
that  he  had  suggested  something  that  would  have 
afforded  him  and  his  friends  any  amount  of  fun 
and  excitement,  but  that  Enoch  lacked  the  courage 
to  take  part  in  it. 

"  I  wouldn't  take  part  in  it  myself  for  a  hun- 
dred dollars  of  any  man's  money,"  said  Lester, 
mentally,  "  and  I  don't  believe  Ross  would  be  fool 
enough  to  do  it,  either.  Good  gracious  !  What 
would  the  fellows  in  the  first  class  do  to  us  ? 
What  would  the  teachers  do  ?  But  I'll  propose 
it,  just  as  Don  Gordon  once  proposed  to  capture 


A    DESPERATE    UNDERTAKING.  159 

the  butcher's  big  bull-dog,  take  him  up  to  the  top 
floor  of  the  building  and  kick  him  down  stairs, 
after  tying  a  tin  can  to  his  tail.  Don  knew  very 
well  that  there  wasn't  a  boy  in  the  world  who  would 
dare  take  a  hand  in  a  proceeding  like  that,  and  he 
suggested  it,  just  because  he  wanted  to  make  Tom 
Fisher  and  Duncan  believe  that  he  was  a  very 
brave  fellow."  Then  aloud  he  added :  "  I'll  tell 
you  what  I'll  do,  Wallace.  If  you  will  keep  still 
and  say  nothing  to  nobody,  I'll  speak  to  Enoch 
about  this  idea  of  yours  and  tell  you  what  he 
thinks." 

Ross  looked  disappointed  ;  he  did  not  at  all 
approve  of  this  arrangement.  If  Enoch  thought 
well  of  his  scheme,  he  wanted  him  to  know  who 
was  the  originator  of  it.  Lester  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  reading  the  thoughts  that  were  passing 
through  his  room-mate's  mind,  and  he  hastened 
to  add : 

"  You  see,  Boss,  that  runaway  expedition  last 
term  made  our  crowd  famous,  and  there  are  a  good 
many  fellows  hanging  around  us  this  year,  hoping 
that  if  we  get  up  another  of  the  same  sort,  they  will 
be  invited  to  join  us  ;  but  there  are  some  among 
them  whom  we  know  we  can't  trust,  and  we  have 


160  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

about  decided  that  we  won't  take  anybody  into 
our  confidence." 

"  But  you  know  you  can  trust  me  !  "  exclaimed 
Boss,  with  some  indignation  in  his  tones. 

"  Yes,  I  think  we  can  ;  but  the  others  may  not 
think  so,  and  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  keep 
entirely  in  the  background,  and  let  me  manage 
the  matter  in  my  own  way.  If  you  won't  agree 
to  it,  you  can  go  and  see  Enoch  yourself.  And 
if  you  do  that,"  added  Lester,  mentally,  "I'll 
knock  the  whole  arrangement  higher  than  the 
moon.  I'll  tell  Colonel  Mack  of  it  the  very  first 
chance  I  get." 

"  But  if  Enoch  thinks  that  my  idea  can  be  car- 
ried out  I  want  to  know  it,  so  that  I  can  have  a 
hand  in  it  myself,"  exclaimed  Ross. 
"  Of  course.     I'll  attend  to  that." 
"  Then  I  will  agree  to  your  proposition." 
"  All  right.     When  I  tell  you  there  are  some 
boys  who  are  now  recognized  as  members  of  our 
crowd,  but  whom  we  do  not  intend  to  take  with 
us  on  any  more  picnics,  you  will  see  the  necessity 
for  keeping  the  matter  a  profound  secret.     Don't 
lisp  a  word  to  anybody,  for,  if  you  do,  you  may 
speak  to  the  wrong  fellow.     I'll  talk  the  scheme 


A    DESPERATE   UNDERTAKING.  161 

up  the  best  I  know  bow,  and  tell  you  what  con- 
clusion we  come  to." 

So  saying,  Lester  left  the  room  and  hastened 
away  in  search  of  Enoch,  whom  he  found  in  the 
hall  in  company  with  his  inseparable  friend, 
Jones.  They  saw  and  understood  the  wink  that 
Lester  gave  them  as  he  passed,  and  followed  him 
out  of  the  building  to  an  unfrequented  part  of 
the  grounds,  where  they  could  talk  without  fear 
of  being  overheard.  Then  Lester  went  into  the 
details  of  his  room-mate's  plan,  never  once  men- 
tioning Boss's  name,  however,  but  leaving  his 
auditors  to  infer  that  the  idea  was  original  with 
himself.  He  wanted  them  to  say  at  the  outset 
that  they  would  not  have  anything  to  do  with  it, 
and  he  succeeded  in  making  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  of  the  undertaking  stand  out  so  prom- 
inently that  he  did  not  believe  that  any  boy  who 
was  in  his  sober  senses  would  willingly  face  them. 
Judge,  then,  how  surprised  he  was  when  he  saw 
the  look  of  interest  and  enthusiasm  which  his 
glowing  words  called  to  Enoch's  face,  and  felt  the 
hearty  embrace  the  boy  gave  him  as  he  exclaimed, 
in  delighted  tones  : 

"  Lester,  you  are  a  brick  !     I  knew  you  would 


162  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

hit  upon  something  grand  if  you  were  only  given 
time  to  set  your  wits  at  work.  This  beats  last 
year  all  to  smash ;  don't  it,  Jones  ?  " 

"  I  should  say  so,"  replied  the  latter,  as  soon  as 
he  had  somewhat  recovered  from  his  amazement. 
The  whole  scheme  was  so  original  and  daring  in 
its  conception  that  he  could  not  take  it  in  all  at 
once.  "Lester  could  not  suggest  anything  that 
would  please  me  better  if  he  were  to  think  and 
plan  for  a  month.  If  we  can  only  carry  it  out — 

"Oh,  we'll  carry  it  out,"  interrupted  Enoch, 
nodding  his  head  in  a  significant  way,  as  if  he 
meant  to  convey  the  impression  that  he  had  sud- 
denly conceived  of  a  brilliant  idea  of  his  own. 
"  Don't  you  worry  about  that." 

Lester  was  so  disgusted  that  he  could  only  give 
a  sickly  smile  in  return  for  the  beaming  looks  his 
companions  bestowed  upon  him.  The  latter  en- 
tered heartily  into  the  spirit  of  the  matter,  and 
Lester,  if  he  had  dared,  would  have  gone  straight 
to  Colonel  Mack  and  exposed  the  whole  thing.  He 
was  afraid  to  take  part  in  it,  and  he  was  so  mean 
that  he  did  not  want  others  to  see  any  fun  unless 
he  could  have  the  lion's  share  of  it.  His  com- 
panions already  showed  a  disposition  to  ignore 


A   DESPERATE   UNDERTAKING.  163 

him  entirely,  and  discussed  with  each  other  sev- 
eral plans  for  accomplishing  their  ends  without 
once  asking  Lester  to  express  his  opinion  regard- 
ing them. 

"  Won't  Cony  be  surprised  when  he  hears  of 
it ! "  exclaimed  Enoch,  who  was  highly  excited 
over  the  sport  in  prospect. 

"  I  only  wish  it  would  take  some  money  out  of 
his  pocket,"  snarled  Lester,  in  reply. 

"  Why  do  you  wish  that  ?  "  demanded  Enoch. 

"  Because  I  don't  at  all  like  the  way  he  jawed 
me  to-day,"  answered  Lester. 

"  Oh,  he  didn't  jaw  you.  He  only  wanted  to 
wake  you  up,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  it.  You  never  would  have  thought 
of  this  if  Cony  had  not  given  you  that  friendly 
overhauling  this  afternoon.  I  wish  that  dinner 
was  coming  off  this  very  night." 

"  Perhaps  the  other  boys  will  not  be  in  favor  of 
it,"  Lester  ventured  to  remark,  and  he  hoped  from 
the  bottom  of  his  heart  that  they  would  not. 

"  Yes,  they  will,"  said  Enoch,  confidently. 
"Mack  and  Gordon  have  made  themselves  ob- 
noxious to  a  large  party  of  fellows  by  the  extra- 
ordinary airs  they  have  thrown  on  since  they 


164  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

received  their  last  promotion,  and  they  will  do 
anything  to  get  even  with  either  of  them.  Now, 
we  have  no  time  to  waste.  We  must  find  out 
just  what  their  plans  are,  and  then  we  shall  know 
how  to  go  to  work  to  defeat  them.  I  believe  they 
hold  their  regular  business  meeting  to-night ; 
and,  Lester,  you  and  Jones  had  better  hide  in  the 
room  and  see  if  you  can't  hear  something  that  will 
be  of  use  to  us." 

The  coolness  with  which  Enoch  desired  others 
to  put  themselves  in  danger  of  a  good  beating 
while  he  kept  out  of  the  way  of  it,  was  refreshing. 
The  promise  of  the  lieutenant-colonel's  shoulder- 
straps  at  the  end  of  the  term  would  not  have 
induced  Lester  Brigham  to  go  into  that  recita- 
tion room  as  a  spy,  and  take  his  chances  of 
detection,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say  so  in 
the  plainest  language  he  could  command. 

"  But  somebody  must  go,"  insisted  Enoch. 

"  Then  go  yourself  !  "  exclaimed  Lester.  "  I 
had  brains  enough  to  get  up  the  scheme,  and  now 
I'd  like  to  see  if  you  have  enough  to  carry  out  the 
details." 

"  All  right ;  I'll  go,"  said  Enoch,  promptly ; 
and  thus  another  of  Lester's  hopes  was  dashed  to 


A   DESPERATE    UNDERTAKING.  165 

the  ground.  If  all  the  boys  in  the  crowd  were  as 
courageous  as  Enoch,  and  as  willing  to  brave 
the  wrath  of  the  boys  in  the  first  class,  it  was 
plain  that  if  they  did  not  accomplish  their 
object,  it  would  not  be  because  they  were  afraid 
to  try. 

"There's  just  this  much  about  it,"  thought 
Lester ;  "  I  won't  go,  nor  will  I  have  the  first 
thing  to  do  with  it.  Since  Enoch  and  Jones  take 
so  much  interest  in  the  scheme,  they  can  work  it 
out  to  suit  themselves  and  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
punishment  when  it  comes,  and  I  will  stay  in 
the  background.  If  I  see  that  they  are  going 
to  succeed,  I  will  make  it  my  business  to  break 
some  of  the  rules  so  that  I  will  be  refused  a 
pass." 

If  Lester  had  tried  to  carry  this  resolution  into 
effect  he  would  have  found  himself  in  trouble  di- 
rectly. The  astute  Enoch,  who  knew  just  how 
far  to  trust  him,  put  the  right  interpretation  upon 
the  expression  he  saw  on  his  face,  and  laid  his 
plans  accordingly. 

"  Well,  Jones,"  said  he,  cheerfully,  "  you  and  I 
will  act  as  spies  to-night,  and  see  if  we  can  learn 
anything.  In  the  meantime  we'll  not  say  a  word 


166  THE    YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

to  any  of  the  boys.  We'll  wait  until  we  have 
something  definite  to  tell  them." 

Just  then  the  supper  call  was  sounded,  and  as 
the  three  conspirators  hastened  to  obey  it,  Enoch 
found  opportunity  to  whisper  to  his  friend  Jones  : 

"  Keep  your  weather-eye  on  Brigham.  I  don't 
like  the  way  he  looked.  He  means  to  back  out, 
and,  failing  in  that,  to  betray  us." 

"  No  !  "  exclaimed  Jones,  who  was  profoundly 
astonished. 

"  I  am  sure  of  it." 

"  Then  what  in  the  name  of  sense  did  he  pro- 
pose it  for  ?  "  was  the  indignant  inquiry. 

"For  fun — just  because  he  wanted  to  show  us 
that  he  could  think  up  something  in  five  minutes 
if  he  set  about  it  in  dead  earnest.  If  he  had  had 
the  least  idea  that  we  would  so  readily  fall  in 
with  his  scheme,  he  would  not  have  said  a  word 
about  it." 

"  He  wanted  to  hear  himself  talk,  did  he  ?  If 
I  really  believed  it,  I  would  report  him." 

"  Don't  do  that/'  said  Enoch,  in  some  alarm, 
"for  if  you  do  you  will  spoil  everything.  We 
don't  care  whether  he  was  in  earnest  or  not.  He 
has  told  us  how  we  can  see  some  fun,  and  if  we 


A  DESPERATE  UNDERTAKING.        167 

are  sharp  we  will  go  ahead  with  it.  What  we 
want  to  guard  against  is,  that  he  don't  slip  out, 
and  leave  us  to  stand  the  court-martial  alone." 

"  Fall  in  for  supper  ! "  shouted  the  quarter- 
master sergeant ;  and  the  order  put  a  stop  to  the 
conversation. 

Enoch  and  Jones  could  not  remember  that  they 
had  ever  been  more  excited  than  they  were  that 
night.  As  self-constituted  spies  they  were  about 
to  undertake  something  that  no  boy  in  that  school 
had  ever  before  had  the  hardihood  to  attempt. 
They  knew  the  temper  of  the  students  in  the  first 
class,  and  they  knew,  too,  that  they  all  belonged 
to  a  secret  society  that  was  as  old  as  the  academy 
itself.  Its  members  were  scattered  all  over  the 
country.  Its  signs,  grips,  and  pass-words,  and  all 
the  other  mysterious  things  belonging  to  it,  had 
always  been  so  closely  guarded,  that  no  one  except 
a  first-class  boy  had  ever  been  able  to  obtain  the 
faintest  clue  to  them.  A  few  inquisitive  fellows 
had  been  bold  enough  to  try  it,  but  they  were 
sorry  for  it  afterward.  They  never  did  find  out 
what  passed  inside  the  doors  of  the  lodge-room, 
not  even  after  they  became  members  of  the  first 
class  ;  and  besides  being  forever  debarred  from  all 


168  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  rights  and  privileges  they  would  otherwise 
have  enjoyed,  they  were  soused  in  the  big  pond 
until  all  the  curiosity  and  a  good  deal  of  their 
breath  was  washed  out  of  them.  Enoch  and 
Jones  knew  all  this,  and  yet  they  were  about  to 
go  a  step  farther.  They  were  going  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  locked  in  one  of  the  recitation- 
rooms  with  all  the  boys  in  the  first  class,  and 
Jones,  after  he  had  taken  time  to  consider  the 
situation,  began  to  feel  as  if  he  were  on  the  point 
of  entering  a  den  of  lions.  Of  course,  he  knew 
that  none  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  lodge-room 
would  be  enacted  at  a  business-meeting,  but  still 
it  was  possible  that  some  of  the  students,  believ- 
ing themselves  to  be  alone,  might  let  fall  some 
words  or  phrases  that  outsiders  were  not  entitled 
to  hear.  He  talked  these  matters  over  with 
Enoch  after  supper,  and  would  have  been  de- 
lighted to  see  some  signs  of  wavering  or  hesitancy 
on  the  part  of  his  companion.  But  Enoch's  eye 
lighted  up  and  his  face  flushed,  as  the  perils  of 
the  undertaking  were  portrayed  to  him,  and  the 
longer  Jones  talked,  the  brighter  grew  the  light 
and  the  deeper  the  flush. 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  black-balled  when  I  get 


A   DESPERATE   UNDERTAKING.  169 

into  the  first  class,"  said  Jones,  as  a  clincher. 
"  Why,  just  think  of  it,  Enoch  !  Some  of  the 
best  officers  in  our  army  and  navy  belong  to  that 
society,  and  if  I  should  happen  to  meet  any  of 
them  after  I  leave  school,  I  should  like  to  associate 
with  them  on  equal  terms." 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  black-balled  either,"  re- 
turned Enoch,  "and,  what's  more,  I  don't  intend 
to  be.  You  need  have  no  fears  on  that  score,  be- 
cause we  are  not  going  to  allow  ourselves  to  be 
caught  in  the  recitation  room.  I  tell  you,  Jones," 
exclaimed  Enoch,  growing  enthusiastic,  "  it  will 
be  the  biggest  thing  that  was  ever  thought  of, 
and  we  must  go  through  with  it.  The  tuckout 
will  be  well  worth  eating — Mack  and  his  crowd 
don't  do  things  by  halves — and  if  we  succeed  in 
stealing  it,  they  will  know  in  a  minute  that  some 
of  their  secrets  have  leaked  out ;  but  won't  it 
puzzle  them  to  locate  that  leak  ?  " 

"  Not  if  they  find  us  hidden  under  the  benches 
in  the  room  in  which  they  are  holding  their  meet- 
ing," replied  Jones. 

But  Enoch  declared  over  and  over  again  that 
they  were  not  going  to  be  caught,  and  spoke  so 
confidently,  and  drew  so  glowing  a  picture  of  the 


170  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

rage  and  mortification  that  would  be  displayed  by 
the  first-class  boys  when  they  discovered  how  they 
had  been  duped,  that  he  succeeded  in  infusing 
a  little  of  his  own  courage  into  his  timid  com- 
panion. 

When  the  time  for  action  arrived,  Enoch,  who 
ought  to  have  been  studying  his  lessons  for  the 
next  day,  came  softly  out  of  his  dormitory  and 
was  promptly  halted  by  Charley  Porter,  the  guard 
who  had  charge  of  that  floor  until  midnight.  We 
have  seen  Charley  before,  and  know  that  he  was  a 
boy  after  Enoch's  own  heart. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  cau- 
tious tone,  after  he  had  looked  up  and  down  the 
hall  to  made  sure  that  he  and  the  spy  were  the 
only  occupants  of  it.  He  knew  at  once  that  there 
was  something  afoot.  He  judged  from  Enoch's 
stealthy  movements  that  guard-running  was  about 
to  be  inaugurated  again,  and  wondered  how  any 
boy  could  have  the  temerity  to  attempt  it.  "  You 
can't  get  out,"  he  added,  a  moment  later,  "  and  if 
you  make  the  effort,  you  will  only  get  yourself 
and  me  into  trouble.  I  am  afraid  to  let  you 
pass." 

"  It  will  be  for  only  half  an  hour,"  was  Enoch's 


A  DESPERATE   UNDERTAKING.  171 

whispered  response.  "  I  assure  you  that  I  don't 
intend  to  go  out  of  the  building." 

"  What's  going  on  ?  "  demanded  the  guard. 

"  Something  that  will  astonish  you  when  you 
hear  the  full  particulars  of  it,"  answered  Enoch. 
"  You  know  about  that  dinner,  of  course  ?  Well, 
some  of  our  old  crowd  have  made  up  their  minds 
that  Mack  and  his  friends  shan't  eat  it — that  we 
will  eat  it  ourselves." 

Charley  smiled,  and  looked  incredulous. 

"  It's  a  fact,"  said  Enoch,  earnestly.  "  Lester 
Brigham  got  up  the  scheme,  and  I  think  it  a 
splendid  one." 

"  It  would  be,  if  it  could  be  carried  out,"  re- 
plied the  guard. 

"  It  can  be,"  said  Enoch,  in  a  confident  tone. 
"  In  the  first  place  we  must  learn  all  about  their 
plans,  and  then  we  shall  know  just  what  to  do." 

"  But  how  are  you  going  to  learn  about  their 
plans?" 

"  You  know  that  the  fellows  in  the  first  class 
hold  their  regular  meeting  to-night,  I  suppose  ? 
Well,  Jones  and  I  are  going  to  hide  in  the  room 
and  listen  to  what  that  committee,  who  have  been 
to  the  city  to-day,  have  to  say  about  the  matter." 


172  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

Charley  Porter  was  really  astonished  now.  He 
looked  at  Enoch  as  if  he  could  hardly  believe 
that  he  had  heard  aright,  but  he  did  not  speak. 

"I  want  to  go  down  to  the  room  now,"  con- 
tinued the  spy,  "and  as  soon  as  the  meeting  is 
over  I  will  come  back — the  very  minute.  I'll  take 
care  to  see  that  you  don't  get  into  any  trouble  on 
my  account." 

The  guard  walked  carelessly  to  the  head  of  the 
stairs,  took  a  survey  of  the  hall  below,  and  came 
back  to  Enoch  before  he  spoke. 

"/wouldn't  do  it  for  a  million  dollars,"  said  he. 
"  Don't  you  know  that  you  will  surely  be  left  out 
in  the  cold  when  you  get  into  the  first  class  if  you 
are  caught  in  that  room  ?  I  have  heard  it  said 
that  the  school  is  made  so  very  unpleasant  for 
black-balled  boys  that  they  can't  stay  in  it.  They 
are  glad  to  get  out  and  go  home  as  soon  as  they 
can." 

"  I  know  all  about  it/'  replied  Enoch.  "  But 
if  I  am  willing  to  take  the  risk  it  doesn't  make  any 
odds  to  you,  does  it  ?  " 

"  None  at  all.  You're  sure  that  you  will  corne 
back  as  soon  as  the  meeting  is  adjourned,  are  you  ? 
Go  on,  then  ;  but  you  had  better  take  a  friend's 


A   DESPERATE   UNDERTAKING.  173 

advice  and  think  twice  before  you  go  into  that 
room." 

Enoch,  who  had  repeatedly  told  himself  that 
nothing  except  detection  should  turn  him  from 
his  purpose,  gave  the  guard  an  assuring  nod,  and 
having  satisfied  himself  that  the  way  was  clear, 
darted  down  the  stairs  that  led  to  the  next  lower 
floor.  There  was  a  guard  there,  but  Enoch  stood 
in  no  fear  of  him.  The  fact  that  he  had  passed 
the  sentry  on  his  own  floor,  was  taken  by  all  the 
guards  and  patrols  in  the  building  as  evidence 
that  he  had  left  his  dormitory  by  permission  of 
somebody  who  had  a  right  to  give  it.  So  long  as 
he  kept  clear  of  the  teachers  and  remained  in  the 
building,  he  could  move  about  without  fear  of 
being  questioned. 

When  Enoch  reached  the  lower  floor  he  saw  at 
a  glance  that  there  was  not  a  single  instant  to  be 
lost.  There  were  a  good  many  boys  in  the  hall, 
and  the  number  was  being  rapidly  augmented  by 
first-class  fellows,  who  were  coming  out  of  their 
rooms  to  attend  the  meeting.  Jones  was  there, 
pacing  restlessly  up  and  down,  and  awaiting 
Enoch's  arrival  with  no  little  impatience.  His 
face  was  pale,  and  he  rubbed  his  hands  together 


174  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

so  nervously  that  it  was  a  wonder  he  did  not 
attract  attention. 

"I  thought  you  were  never  coming,"  said  he, 
as  Enoch  approached.  "  Don't  you  think  we  had 
better  give  it  up  and  find  some  other  way  of  learn- 
ing ahout  their  plans  ?  " 

"  Can  you  suggest  any  other  way  ? "  asked 
Enoch,  in  reply. 

Jones  was  obliged  to  confess  that  he  could  not. 
He  had  racked  his  brain  in  the  hope  of  discov- 
ering some  less  dangerous  mode  of  procedure,  but 
his  thinking  had  amounted  to  nothing.  In  fact, 
there  was  no  other  way  in  which  the  two  spies 
could  gain  the  information  they  desired  than  the 
one  Enoch  had  selected,  because  the  first-class 
fellows  kept  entirely  to  themselves  while  they 
were  strolling  about  the  building  or  grounds, 
and  if  a  lower  class  boy  had  attempted  to 
approach  them  when  they  were  discussing  their 
plans,  he  would  have  been  ordered  away  without 
ceremony. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Enoch,  "I  don't  see  any 
way  for  it  but  to  hide  under  the  benches  and  take 
the  chances.  We'll  go  one  at  a  time,  and  I  will 
take  the  lead.  When  you  come  in,  give  a  low 


A  DESPERATE  UNDERTAKING.       175 

whistle,  and  I  will  reply  in  the  same  way  to  show 
you  where  I  am." 

The  spies  separated  and  began  walking  up  and 
down  the  hall,  moving  in  opposite  directions,  and 
all  the  while  drawing  nearer  to  the  door  of  the 
room  in  which  the  meeting  was  to  be  held. 
Watching  his  opportunity,  when  none  of  the  boys 
who  were  gathered  around  the  stove  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  hall  happened  to  be  looking  that  way, 
Enoch  darted  into  the  room  and,  in  less  time  than 
it  takes  to  write  it,  was  concealed  under  one  of  the 
benches.  A  few  minutes  later  Jones  was  crouching 
by  his  side,  and  none  of  the  boys  in  the  hall  were 
the  wiser  for  what  they  had  done. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY. 


we  shall  see  what  we  shall  see,"  whis- 
pered Enoch,  as  he  and  Jones  drew  them- 
selves into  the  smallest  possible  compass  and 
waited,  with  beating  hearts,  to  see  what  was  going 
to  happen.  He  spoke  calmly  enough,  but  the 
thought  of  what  might  be  the  result  of  his  rash 
undertaking  caused  him  no  little  anxiety. 

"I  wish  Lester  Brigham  had  been  down  in 
Mississippi  before  he  proposed  this  thing  to  us,  or 
else  that  he  was  here  in  my  place,"  whispered 
Jones,  in  reply.  "  Let's  get  out  of  here  while  we 
have  the  chance." 

It  is  possible  that  Enoch  would  have  agreed  to 
this  proposal  if  a  way  of  retreat  had  been  open  to 
them  ;  but  before  he  could  speak,  the  door  opened, 
and  the  first-class  boys  came  pouring  in.  It  was 
too  late  to  repent  now. 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  177 

It  required  all  the  fortitude  Enoch  possessed  to 
carry  him  through  the  hour  that  followed,  but  he 
had  come  there  to  listen,  and  he  did  not  forget  to 
do  it ;  while  his  timid  companion,  who  was  trem- 
bling in  every  limb,  did  not  understand  half  a 
dozen  words  that  were  uttered  in  his  hearing. 
Enoch  was  greatly  amazed  to  learn  that,  if  the 
idea  of  stealing  the  dinner  which  the  graduating 
class  had  prepared  for  themselves  and  their  friends 
was  original  with  Lester  Brigham,  he  was  not  the 
first  student  to  propose  it.  In  the  years  gone  by, 
some  of  the  mischief-loving  fellows  who  then  be- 
longed to  the  academy  had  thought  of  the  same 
thing,  and,  moreover,  they  had  worked  to  such 
good  purpose  that  they  had  given  the  first-class 
boys  no  end  of  trouble.  This  knowledge  was  so 
very  encouraging  to  Enoch  that  he  almost  forgot 
that  he  was  frightened  ;  and  when  the  meeting 
adjourned,  and  he  and  Jones  stole  out  of  the  reci- 
tation room  and  made  their  way  toward  their  dor- 
mitories, he  told  himself  that  if  he  were  as  smart 
as  he  thought  he  was,  he  could  do  more  than  make 
trouble  for  the  graduating  class — he  could  make 
Lester's  scheme  successful. 

"There's   one    thing    about  it,   fellows,"   said 


178  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

Enoch,  as  lie  and  Jones  stopped  to  exchange  a 
few  words  with  Charley  Porter.  "  They  are  afraid 
of  our  crowd,  and  have  taken  all  sorts  of  precau- 
tions to  guard  against  any  interference  on  our 
part.  They  couldn't  have  paid  us  a  bigger  com- 
pliment ;  could  they,  Jones  ?  " 

"  N — no,"  stammered  the  latter.  "  Oh,  yes ;  it 
was  a  splendid  compliment,"  he  added,  trying  to 
arouse  himself.  The  fact  was,  he  did  not  know 
what  Enoch  was  talking  about. 

"  I  guess  you  didn't  hear  much  that  was  said 
while  you  were  in  the  recitation  room,"  said 
Charley,  who  did  not  fail  to  notice  how  very  pale 
Jones's  face  was  and  how  his  hands  trembled. 
"  You  look  and  act  as  if  you  were  scared  half  to 
death." 

"And  so  I  was,"  answered  Jones,  who  knew 
that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  deny  the  charge. 
"  It  makes  me  shiver  all  over  when  I  think  what 
those  fellows  would  have  done  to  us  if  they  had 
caught  us  there.  Fortunately  they  were  all  gath- 
ered in  the  front  of  the  room,  and  that  was  the 
way  we  escaped  discovery." 

"  You  know  that  much  about  it,  don't  you  ?  " 
said  Enoch,  with  a  laugh.  "  Never  mind  ;  I  was 


LESTER   BEIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  179 

frightened  myself,  and  when  I  went  down  stairs, 
Charley  told  me  that  he  wouldn't  act  as  a  spy  on 
Mack  and  the  rest  for  a  million  dollars.  Charley 
is  nobody's  coward,  either." 

"  I  hope  I  am  not,"  said  the  guard,  who  was 
pleased  with  the  compliment.  "And  I  am  not 
foolhardy,  either.  I  don't  call  you  two  brave — I 
call  you  reckless." 

"  Perhaps  we  were,"  said  Enoch.  "  At  any  rate 
I  wouldn't  do  the  same  thing  again  for  a  dozen 
dinners.  Now  we  are  ready  to  talk  the  matter  up 
among  the  fellows,  and  we  will  begin  to-morrow." 

Just  then  the  deep  tones  of  the  big  bell  in  the 
cupola  rang  through  the  building,  and  the  spies, 
knowing  that  the  officer  of  the  guard  would  soon 
make  his  rounds,  hurried  toward  their  rooms ; 
while  Charley  placed  his  hands  behind  his  back 
and  began  pacing  up  and  down  the  hall. 

"  That  for  you  and  your  rules,  Don  Gordon," 
thought  Enoch,  snapping  his  fingers  in  the  air  and 
taking  his  seat  at  the  study-table  opposite  his 
room-mate  —  a  good  little  boy,  who  would  have 
been  frightened  at  the  bare  thought  of  deliberately 
violating  any  of  the  rules  of  school.  Bert  Gordon 
had  fondly  hoped  that  by  "  chumming  "  Enoch  on 


180  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

a  studious,  well-behaved  fellow,  he  could  induce 
him  to  mend  his  ways  and  devote  himself  to  busi- 
ness, so  that  he  could  take  a  higher  stand  in  the 
school ;  for  Enoch  was  bright,  and  could  have 
earned  a  lieutenant's  shoulder-straps  very  easily, 
if  he  had  only  applied  himself.  If  Bert  had  known 
what  Enoch  was  thinking  about  now,  he  would 
have  seen  that  his  plan  was  not  likely  to  work. 

That  was  a  long  night  to  Enoch,  who  rolled 
restlessly  about  on  his  bed  trying  in  vain  to  go  to 
sleep.  His  mind  was  full  of  thoughts  of  the  din- 
ner and  of  the  stratagems  of  which  he  intended  to 
make  use  in  order  to  secure  possession  of  it  (he 
knew  that  those  he  would  take  into  his  confidence 
would  expect  him  to  manage  the  matter),  and  the 
worst  of  it  was,  that  he  could  not  unburden  him- 
self to  anybody  before  morning.  When  at  last  he 
sank  into  an  uneasy  slumber,  he  dreamed  about 
the  fun  in  prospect,  and  it  was  the  first  thing  that 
came  into  his  mind  when  the  booming  of  the 
morning  gun  called  him  up  to  begin  the  duties  of 
the  day. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  breakfast  the 
students  were  allowed  an  hour  in  which  to  look 
over  their  lessons  for  the  day,  or  to  walk  about  the 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  181 

grounds  and  watch  guard-mount.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  that  Enoch  didn't  do  either.  He 
devoted  the  time  to  making  out  a  list  of  those  who 
he  thought  would  be  willing  to  assist  him  in  his 
enterprise,  and  Lester,  Jones,  and  Charley  Porter 
acted  as  his  advisers.  The  two  last  were  quite 
willing  to  look  upon  Enoch  as  the  leading  spirit, 
but  Lester  was  not  a  little  provoked  at  the  matter- 
of-fact  way  in  which  the  management  of  affairs 
was  taken  out  of  his  hands.  He  could  not  have 
acted  as  leader  himself,  and  he  knew  it ;  but  he 
wanted  the  others  to  show  him  a  little  respect. 
Instead  of  that,  they  did  not  notice  him  at  all ; 
but  at  his  request  they  added  the  name  of  Wallace 
Ross  to  those  on  the  list,  because  they  knew  that 
they  would  have  occasion  to  use  some  of  the  money 
with  which  Ross  was  so  well  supplied.  After  that 
each  member  of  this  self-appointed  committee  took 
a  copy  of  the  list,  and  the  conspirators  separated 
to  "  talk  the  matter  up  among  the  boys."  Those 
to  whom  they  spoke  on  the  subject  were,  without 
exception,  utterly  confounded  by  the  magnitude 
of  the  enterprise,  and  loud  in  their  praises  of  the 
courage  that  Enoch  and  Jones  had  exhibited  the 
night  before.  They  said  so  much  about  it  that 


182  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

Lester  became  disgusted,  and  wished  most  heartily 
that  he  had  gone  into  the  recitation  room  himself, 
instead  of  allowing  Jones  to  go. 

"  You  seem  to  forget  that  I  was  one  of  those 
who  saved  the  lives  of  the  crew  of  the  Mystery," 
observed  Lester,  who  could  not  bear  that  the  two 
spies  should  receive  all  the  credit.  "  Where  would 
they  have  been  if  it  hadn't  been  for  me  ?  There 
wasn't  a  boy  among  you  who  had  the  pluck  to 
volunteer  to  go  in  the  dory  with  Enoch." 

"  What  in  the  world  has  the  wreck  of  the  Mys- 
tery to  do  with  stealing  the  dinner  of  the  grad- 
uating class  ?  "  demanded  one  of  the  dozen  or  more 
boys  to  whom  Lester  talked  in  this  way.  "  We 
know  that  you  and  Enoch  showed  courage  that 
day,  and  saved  us  all  from  being  sent  down.  We 
are  much  obliged  to  you,  too,  for  proposing  this 
thing,  for  we  think  we  shall  be  able  to  get  some 
sport  out  of  it ;  but  Enoch  is  the  fellow  to  man- 
age it.  I,  for  one,  have  full  confidence  in  him, 
but  I  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  it  unless  he 
is  allowed  to  take  command." 

This  was  what  all  the  boys  said,  and  it  made 
Lester  very  angry.  More  than  once  he  told  him- 
self that  the  next  time  the  crowd  got  hard  up  for 


LESTER    BRIGHAM'S    STRATEGY.  183 

amusement  they  could  go  to  somebody  else  to  help 
them  out,  for  he'd  be  shot  if  he  would  do  it.  He 
even  thought  seriously  of  telling  Colonel  Mack  all 
about  it ;  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  he 
would  have  done  so,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact 
that  he  knew  he  would  have  to  appear  as  the 
principal  witness  when  the  court-martial  came  off. 
As  it  was,  he  had  to  take  his  place  in  the  ranks,  so 
to  speak,  and  look  on  and  listen  while  others  planned 
the  campaign  and  issued  the  necessary  orders. 

We  need  not  linger  to  unfold  those  plans  or  to 
repeat  the  orders,  because  it  would  take  up  too 
much  time  ;  and,  besides,  everything  will  be  made 
clear  as  our  story  progresses.  It  will  be  enough  to 
say  that  Enoch  proved  himself  to  be  a  long-headed 
commander,  and  that  when  the  time  for  action 
arrived,  everything  moved  off  as  smoothly  as  he 
could  have  desired.  There  was  not  a  single  hitch 
anywhere — but  he  and  his  companions  didn't  eat 
the  dinner. 

We  have  said  that  class-day  was  always  observed 
as  a  sort  of  holiday.  By  that  we  mean  that  all 
the  students  in  the  first  class  were  granted  leaves 
of  absence  for  twenty-four  hours,  with  permission 
to  visit  the  city ;  that  those  who  lived  in  Hamilton 


184  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FLOWERS. 

were  allowed  to  go  home  for  the  same  length  of 
time ;  that  the  others  who  were  worthy  of  them 
were  granted  passes,  good  "between  gun  and 
gun" — that  is,  between  sunrise  and  sunset — and 
which  permitted  them  to  go  as  far  as  the  village, 
and  no  farther ;  and  that  the  academy  was  "  gar- 
risoned "  only  by  the  guard,  and  by  those  who, 
owing  to  some  violation  of  the  rules,  had  failed  to 
obtain  liberty.  Enoch's  crowd  numbered  nearly 
forty  boys,  and,  for  a  wonder,  every  one  of  them 
got  a  pass.  The  superintendent  was  surprised 
when  he  came  to  examine  the  different  reports 
that  were  handed  in  to  him,  for  some  of  this  crowd 
were  the  laziest  and  most  turbulent  boys  in  the 
school ;  but  he  complimented  them  on  the  marked 
improvement  in  their  conduct  and  standing,  and 
said  he  hoped  it  would  be  lasting. 

"  What  would  the  old  fellow  think  if  he  knew 
as  much  as  we  do  ? "  said  Enoch,  to  his  friend 
Jones.  "  He  won't  hold  us  in  so  high  esteem  by 
this  time  to-morrow  as  he  does  now." 

"  Perhaps  there  won't  be  much  of  us  left  to 
esteem,"  replied  Jones,  dolefully.  "  We're  play- 
ing a  desperate  game,  Enoch,  and  I  wish  Brig- 
ham  hadn't  thought  of  it." 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  185 

And  Lester  himself  wished  that  Koss  hadn't 
thought  of  it.  He  had  studied  and  worked  with 
the  rest,  hoping  that  before  the  time  for  action 
arrived,  something  would  happen  to  upset  Enoch's 
calculations ;  hut  every  one  of  his  plans  worked 
smoothly,  Lester  had  his  pass  in  his  pocket,  and 
there  was  no  backing  out. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  one  that  had  been  set  for  the  banquet, 
four  boys  who  lived  in  Hamilton  and  who  belonged 
to  the  crowd,  received  permission  to  go  home  on  a 
twenty-four  hours'  visit.  Before  they  went  they 
listened  to  some  very  explicit  instructions  from 
Enoch  and  his  lieutenants,  who  reminded  them 
that  they  had  a  most  important  part  to  perform, 
and  that  the  success  of  the  enterprise  depended 
solely  upon  their  discretion.  Things  were  all 
right  so  far,  Enoch  said,  and  if  they  carried  out 
their  orders  to  the  very  letter,  the  members  of  the 
crowd  would  eat  that  dinner  in  spite  of  all  that 
could  be  done  to  prevent  it. 

These  emissaries,  who  departed  on  the  one 
o'clock  train,  were  accompanied  as  far  as  the  depot 
by  another  student,  whose  object  in  loitering  about 
on  the  platform  for  five  long  hours  was  not  made 


186  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

apparent,  until  the  evening  train  from  Hamilton 
thundered  up  to  the  station  ;  then  he  walked  up 
to  the  baggage-car,  and  some  one  on  the  inside 
handed  him  a  letter  addressed  in  a  familiar  hand 
to  Enoch  Williams.  It  must  have  been  just  what 
the  student  was  waiting  for,  for  as  soon  as  he  re- 
ceived it  he  jumped  off  the  platform  and  set  out 
post-haste  for  the  academy.  Enoch  and  a  few  of 
his  trusted  followers  must  have  been  expecting 
him,  for  they  were  the  first  boys  he  encountered 
after  he  passed  the  sentry  at  the  gate. 

"  It's  from  Endicott,"  exclaimed  Enoch,  glancing 
at  the  writing  on  the  envelope.  "  Fellows,  this  is 
what  comes  of  having  friends  at  court.  If  Endi- 
cott's  father  were  not  an  officer  of  the  road,  the 
baggage-master  would  not  have  troubled  himself 
to  bring  this  letter  up  to  us.  Now,  let  us  see 
what  those  fellows  have  been  doing  since  they 
went  down  to  Hamilton.  Some  of  you  keep  watch 
while  I  read." 

As  the  letter  threw  considerable  light  upon  the 
plans  of  the  conspirators,  and  contained  some 
things  the  reader  ought  to  know  in  order  to  fully 
comprehend  what  happened  in  the  city  the  next 
day,  we  transcribe  it  entire.  It  ran  as  follows  : 


LESTER  BRIGHAM'S  STRATEGY.  187 

"  DEAR  ENOCH  : 

"Everything  is  working  as  smoothly  as  we 
could  wish.  Mr.  Colson  was  very  much  surprised 
when  I  told  him  that  we  had  decided  to  eat  our 
dinner  in  Bordentown,  and  consequently  should 
not  want  the  hall,  and  so  was  Mr.  Taylor,  when 
we  asked  him  if  we  could  have  the  eatables  at  the 
transfer-depot  in  time  for  the  afternoon  train. 
But  he  didn't  hesitate  to  promise  that  everything 
should  be  there,  and  neither  did  he  ask  any  disa- 
greeable questions.  We  have  seen  the  leader  of 
the  band,  and  told  him  that  we  want  him  to  be  at 
the  depot  to  meet  the  lightning  express  instead  of 
the  regular  mail,  and  he  has  promised  to  be  on 
hand  and  to  go  to  Bordentown  with  us.  My 
father  has  placed  his  carriage  at  my  disposal  for 
to-morrow  afternoon,  and  I  have  arranged  with 
Sam  (that's  the  coachman's  name)  to  meet  Blake 
and  his  committee  at  the  depot,  and  to  take  them 
as  far  out  into  the  country  as  he  can  before  he  lets 
them  out.  The  horses  are  very  fast,  and  if  Sam 
puts  them  to  their  speed,  he  ought  to  be  able  to 
take  them  as  far  as  Grove  farm.  If  he  does,  it 
will  take  them  forever  to  find  their  way  back  to 
town,  for  the  roads  twist  and  turn  about  so  be- 


188  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

wilderingly  that  even  those  who  are  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  woods  sometimes  get  lost  there. 
By  the  time  they  get  back  we  shall  be  on  our  way 
to  Bordentown,  and  they  will  have  no  means  of 
following  us,  for  we  shall  take  the  last  train.  The 
best  joke  of  the  whole  was,  that  nobody  suspected 
us.  We  didn't  say  that  we  were  first-class  boys 
— they  took  that  for  granted.  We  simply  said 
that  we  were  the  committee  that  had  been  in- 
structed to  make  new  arrangements  regarding  the 
banquet.  All  the  other  things  you  spoke  to  me 
about  have  been  attended  to,  and  if  you  do  your 
part  as  well  as  I  have  done  mine,  the  dinner  is 
ours  as  sure  as  you  are  a  foot  high.  I  send  this  by 
the  baggage-master,  as  I  promised. 

"In  great  haste,  yours, 

"  ENDICOTT.'' 

"He's  a  brick!  "  exclaimed  Enoch,  as  he  folded 
the  letter  and  returned  it  to  the  envelope.  "  And, 
Brigham,  you  are  another.  No  one  but  you 
would  ever  have  thought  of  such  a  thing  as  this, 
and  if  I  have  any  influence  with  the  fellows,  the 
toast  of  the  evening  shall  be  :  '  Lester  Brigham 
— the  student  to  whose  fertile  brain  we  are  in- 
debted for  this  evening's  enjoyment.'  Endicott 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  189 

shall  give  it,  if  no  one  objects.  He's  the 
best  speaker  among  us,  and  he  will  do  it  up 
brown." 

From  this  time  forward  the  conspirators  lived  in. 
a  fever  of  excitement.  There  was  but  one  thing 
to  be  feared  now,  and  that  was  that  Mr.  Taylor  or 
Mr.  Colson  might  telegraph  to  the  president  of 
the  first  class,  asking  if  the  "committee"  who  had 
called  that  day  had  authority  to  make  so  radical  a 
change  in  the  programme  ;  but  they  need  not  have 
troubled  themselves  about  that.  The  gentlemen 
referred  to  had  been  informed  by  the  secretary  that 
if  the  class  thought  best  to  make  any  changes,  they 
would  be  duly  notified  of  the  fact  by  a  committee 
and  not  by  letter,  and  so  they  supposed  that  every- 
thing was  just  as  it  should  be. 

The  morning  of  the  eventful  day  came  at  last, 
and  shortly  after  breakfast  the  boys  exchanged 
their  fatigue  suits  for  their  dress  uniforms,  and 
began  to  leave  the  grounds — all  except  the  mem- 
bers of  the  first  class,  who,  as  we  have  recorded, 
marched  out  in  a  body  in  the  afternoon,  in  time  to 
take  the  five  o'clock  train.  Now  more  strategy 
on  the  part  of  the  conspirators  became  necessary 
in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  the  presence  of  those 


190  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

who  were  not  in  the  secret.  There  were  tickets  to 
be  purchased — Ross's  pocket-book  came  handy  now 
— and  then  they  were  to  hold  themselves  in  readi- 
ness to  board  the  one  o'clock  train  ;  and,  more  than 
that,  both  of  these  maneuvers  were  to  be  accom- 
plished secretly,  or  else,  to  quote  from  Jones,  the 
fat  would  all  be  in  the  fire. 

Among  those  who  had  come  out  with  them,  and 
who  persisted  in  keeping  them  company  in  spite  of 
all  their  efforts  to  shake  them  off,  were  several 
good  little  boys  of  the  Bert  Gordon  stamp ;  and 
these  must  be  kept  in  profound  ignorance  of  the 
contemplated  movement.  If  they  should  happen 
to  see  any  of  Enoch's  party  at  the  window  of  the 
ticket  office,  or  should  chance  to  be  on  the  plat- 
form when  they  boarded  the  cars,  some  tale-bearer 
among  them  would  be  sure  to  hasten  to  the 
academy  with  the  information,  which  might  open 
the  eyes  of  the  first-class  boys  and  lead  to  an  in- 
vestigation by  telegraph.  Enoch  knew  that  the 
majority  of  these  good  little  boys  could  be  trusted 
— that  even  if  they  should  accidentally  learn  the 
details  of  all  his  plans  they  would  not  say  a  word 
to  the  teachers  about  it,  unless  they  were  ques- 
tioned ;  but  there  were  two  among  them  who 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S    STRATEGY.  191 

could  not  hold  their  tongues,  and  who  must  be  got 
out  of  the  way  at  all  hazards. 

"  But  how  shall  it  he  done  ?  that's  the  ques- 
tion," said  Enoch,  who  was  at  his  wit's  end  now. 
He  and  Jones  had  been  talking  about  it  all  the 
morning,  and  just  as  he  asked  the  question  Lester 
Brigham  came  up  and  joined  in  the  conversation. 
For  a  wonder  the  latter  hit  upon  an  idea  at  once. 
He,  too,  had  been  revolving  a  knotty  problem  in 
his  mind,  and  that  was,  how  to  get  rid  of  Wallace 
Boss.  He  (Lester)  was  to  be  toasted  as  the  orig- 
inator of  the  grandest  scheme  for  amusement  that 
had  ever  been  thought  of  by  school-boys,  and  he 
was  afraid  that  when  his  name  was  proposed,  Ross 
would  become  indignant  and  tell  the  truth  about 
the  matter.  That  would  be  very  mortifying  in- 
deed, and  Lester  had  decided  that  the  only  way  to 
prevent  it  was*  to  keep  Ross  away  from  Borden- 
tovvn.  He  had  just  thought  of  something. 

"  Leave  them  to  me,  fellows,"  said  he.  "  I'll  see 
that  they  are  not  around  when  we  get  on  the  cars." 

"  If  you  will/'  exclaimed  Enoch,  seizing  Lester's 
hand  and  giving  it  a  hearty  shake,  "  you  will  add 
another  to  the  long  list  of  favors  for  which  we  are 
indebted  to  you.  I  wish  I  could  think  up  things 


192  THE    YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

as  readily  as  you  can,  but  my  wit  is  slow.  How 
are  you  going  to  do  it  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  yet  fully  decided,"  was  Lester's  re- 
ply. "  But  I  will  tell  you  how  you  can  help  me : 
I  want  you  to  spread  it  around  where  these  two 
fellows  can  hear  it,  that  the  train  we  intend  to 
take  is  an  hour  late  ;  but " 

"Oh,  that  wouldn't  do  at  all,"  said  Enoch, 
hastily.  "  They'd  get  scattered  all  over  town, 
and  half  of  them " 

"  But,"  repeated  Lester,  paying  no  attention  to 
the  interruption,  "have  it  distinctly  understood 
among  our  own  boys  that  it  is  on  time.  Then 
come  down  to  the  livery  stable  at  twelve  o'clock, 
sharp,  and,  no  matter  what  I  am  doing,  tell  me 
that  the  superintendent  wants  to  see  me  at  once. 
Understand  ?  " 

"I  understand  what  you  say,"  replied  Enoch, 
"  but  I  don't  understand  the  plot." 

"  No  matter  ;  I  understand  it,  and  you  will  see 
how  nicely  it  will  work.  Will  you  do  as  I  say  ?  " 

Enoch  replied  that  they  would,  and  Lester 
hastened  away  to  hunt  up  Wallace  Boss  before 
any  of  the  crowd  had  time  to  post  him  in  regard 
to  the  trick  that  was  to  be  played  upon  Smith 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  193 

and  Wheeler,  the  two  good  little  boys  whom 
Enoch  was  afraid  to  trust.  He  found  him  after 
awhile,  and  lost  not  a  moment  in  putting  his 
hastily-formed  plans  into  execution. 

"  I  say,  Boss,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  great  show 
of  annoyance,  "  I  have  been  looking  all  over  for 
you.  Our  train  is  an  hour  behind  time,  and " 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  demanded  Boss. 

"Telegraph,"  answered  Lester. 

"Now  that's  very  provoking,"  said  "Boss,  who 
believed  every  word  of  it.  "  I  wish  we  were  in  the 
city  now,  for  I  shall  not  draw  an  easy  breath  as 
long  as  we  stay  here.  A  word  from  the  operator 
in  Hamilton  would  make  dough  of  our  cake  in  a 
little  less  than  no  time." 

"  That's  so,"  assented  Lester.  "  I  feel  as  un- 
easy as  you  do — more  so,  in  fact,  because — er " 

"  Because  what  ?  "  said  Boss. 

"  No  matter,"  replied  Lester,  with  an  air  which 
said  that  he  could  tell  something  surprising  if  he 
wanted  to.  "  But  if  the  superintendent  should 
send  an  orderly  after  me  with  instructions  to  re- 
port at  the  academy  without  a  moment's  delay,  it 
would  not  astonish  me  in  the  least.  But  if  he 
does,  I  don't  mean  that  the  orderly  shall  find  me. 

9 


194  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

Let's  go  out  to  the  Big  Tree,  get  a  good  country 
dinner,  and  inquire  about  the  trout  fishing." 

The  Big  Tree  was  the  name  of  a  little  tavern 
that  was  located  in  the  country,  about  five  miles 
beyond  the  village  limits.  It  was  a  favorite  place 
of  resort  for  the  students  who  were  fond  of  angling, 
and  a  visit  to  the  ponds  and  streams  in  its  imme- 
diate vicinity  was  sure  to  result  in  a  full  creel. 
The  landlord  was  famous  for  his  pies,  but  when 
it  came  to'  pancakes,  the  boys  all  agreed  that  he 
could  not  begin  to  compete  with  Cony  Ryan.  The 
Big  Tree  was  so  far  away  that  it  was  some  trouble 
to  reach  it,  and  so  the  students  were  accustomed 
to  go  in  parties  large  enough  to  fill  a  two-horse 
carriage,  which  they  paid  for  by  "  pooling "  their 
small  supply  of  pocket-money. 

"I  am  in  favor  of  that,"  said  Ross,  readily. 
"  The  boys  drew  on  me  pretty  heavily  this  morn- 
ing, but  I  think  I  have  enough  left  to  pay  my 
share  toward  a  livery  rig." 

"  I  haven't,"  said  Lester ;  "  that  is  if  you  and  I 
go  alone.  Let's  get  two  more  good  fellows  to  go 
with  us.  It  will  make  the  expense  lighter.  Here 
come  Smith  and  Wheeler.  They've  got  some  col- 
laterals ;  let's  ask  them." 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  195 

"  What,  those  spooneys  ! "  exclaimed  Ross,  who 
was  very  much  surprised.  "I  believe  I  would 
rather  stay  here  than  go  with  them.  I  thought 
you  didn't  like  them." 

"  Neither  do  I ;  but  our  fellows  are  pretty  well 
strapped,  and,  as  I  said,  Smith  and  Wheeler  have 
money.  We  shall  be  in  their  company  only  about 
an  hour  and  a  half,  and  you  surely  can  stand  it  for 
that  length  of  time." 

"  We  won't  run  any  risk  of  missing  the  train, 
will  we  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.     I  have  a  watch." 

Smith  and  Wheeler  came  up  at  this  moment, 
and  when  Lester  proposed  that  they  four  should 
club  together  and  hire  a  team  to  take  them  out  to 
the  Big  Tree,  they  consented  at  once.  The  four 
boys  then  strolled  slowly  toward  the  livery  stable, 
•which  they  reached  shortly  before  noon.  When 
Lester  told  the  proprietor  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions wanted  a  double  team  for  an  hour  and  a 
half,  the  man  did  not  seem  to  be  in  any  hurry  to 
order  it  out.  • 

"  Have  you  got  the  money  to  pay  for  it  ?  "  he 
demanded. 

"  Of  course  we  have/'  answered  Lester,  indig- 


196  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

nantly.  "  Did  I  ever  order  a  team  of  you  without 
paying  for  it  ?  " 

"  No,  you  never  did  ;  but  last  week  some  of 
your  boys  ordered  a  rig  for  Saturday  afternoon, 
and  told  me  to  be  sure  and  keep  it  for  them,  and 
they  would  take  it,  rain  or  shine.  I  could  have 
let  that  team  a  dozen  times.  When  Saturday 
came  it  rained,  and  the  boys  didn't  show  up  ;  con- 
sequently I  lost  my  money." 

11  We  are  perfectly  willing  to  pay  you  in  ad- 
vance," said  Ross. 

"  More  than  that,"  continued  the  livery-stable 
man,  "  I've  had  students  come  here,  order  a  rig 
out  of  pure  meanness,  and  slip  out  while  I  was 
hitching  up ;  and  I  have  said  that  no  academy 
boy  should  ever  draw  a  rein  over  one  of  my  horses 
again.  Will  you  take  the  team  if  I  bring  it 
out?" 

"  Of  course  we  will,"  said  Wheeler,  who,  being 
perfectly  honest  and  upright  in  all  his  dealings, 
felt  rather  nettled  by  the  livery-man's  suspicions. 
"  You  must  think  we  have  little  to  do  to  come 
here  and  call  for  a  thing  we  don't  want." 

The  livery-man  laughed  and  turned  away,  and 
presently  one  of  his  hands  backed  a  neat  wagon 


LESTER   BRIGHAM'S   STRATEGY.  197 

with  a  canopy  top  into  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and 
another  appeared  leading  the  two  horses  that  were 
to  draw  it.  Then  Lester  knew  that  if  Enoch  and 
Jones  did  their  part,  the  three  objectionable  boys 
were  effectually  disposed  of.  Enoch  had  not  yet 
made  his  appearance,  but  Lester  had  so  much  con- 
fidence in  him  that  his  absence  did  not  trouble 
him  in  the  least.  He  climbed  into  the  wagon  and 
sat  there  while  the  horses  were  being  hitched  to 
it;  then  the  others  got  in,  and  Wheeler,  who 
handled  the  reins,  was  about  to  drive  out  of  the 
barn,  when  the  chief  conspirator  and  his  lieutenant 
suddenly  appeared  at  the  door. 


CHAPTER    X. 

AN    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE. 

"  TTALLO  !  "  exclaimed  Enoch.  «  Where  are 
—  you  fellows  going  ?  " 

"  Out  to  the  Big  Tree  to  get  dinner  and  to  ask 
about  the  fishing/''  replied  Wheeler. 

"  Then  you  had  better  hurry  up  and  get  out  of 
town  as  soon  as  you  can,"  observed  Jones.  "  The 
orderly  is  looking  for  you,  Mr.  Brigham." 

"  What  orderly  ?  "  demanded  Lester,  who  seemed 
very  much  surprised  to  hear  it. 

"  Colonel's  orderly,  of  course." 

"  What  does  he  want  of  me  ?  " 

"He  wants  to  tell  you  that  the  superintendent 
desires  your  immediate  presence  at  the  academy," 
said  Enoch,  who  played  his  part  well,  because  he 
began  to  understand  Lester's  trick.  "  You  have 
been  doing  something,  Brigham,  and  your  day's 
sport  is  up  a  hollow  stump." 


AN    ALARM    AND   A    STAMPEDE.  199 

"Did  anybody  ever  hear  of  such  luck  ?"  cried 
Lester,  with  a  great  show  of  disappointment  and 
anger.  "  Boys,  I  can't  go." 

"  What  did  I  tell  you  ?  "  exclaimed  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  livery-stable,  who  thought  he  had 
been  imposed  upon  again.  "  I  knew  you  didn't 
want  that  rig  when  you  asked  for  it." 

"Oh,  yes,  we  do,  Mr.  Watkins,"  answered 
Wheeler,  hastily.  "The  rest  of  us  will  go,  and 
perhaps  while  we  are  driving  through  the  village 
we  can  find  some  good  fellow  to  take  Lester's 
place.  We're  sorry  for  you,  Brigham,  and  hope 
you  haven't  been  doing  anything  very  bad.  If 
you  say  so,  we'll  take  you  up  to  the  academy 
and  wait  for  you  at  the  gate.  You  may  be 
able  to  explain  matters  so  that  you  can  get  out 
again." 

"  You  had  better  go  on  and  hunt  up  some  other 
fellow,"  said  Enoch.  "  I  don't  think  you  will  see 
Brigham  again  to-day." 

Something  that  looked  like  a  shade  of  anxiety 
settled  on  Lester's  face,  and  without  saying  an- 
other word  he  turned  and  hurried  away,  leaving 
his  two  friends  to  do  the  rest  of  the  talking. 
Boss  acted  as  though  he  didn't  know  whether  it 


200  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

was  best  to  go  or  not.  Enoch  and  Jones  were 
surprised  to  see  him  in  the  wagon,  and  wondered 
if  they  hadn't  better  give  him  a  hint  to  get  out ; 
hut  after  a  little  reflection,  they  wisely  concluded 
that  Ross  would  not  have  been  there  if  Lester  had 
not  wanted  to  get  rid  of  him  for  some  reason  of 
his  own,  and  so  they  said  nothing  to  him.  They 
saw  Wheeler  drive  out  of  the  stable,  and  then 
walked  slowly  down  the  street  in  search  of  Lester, 
whom  they  found  waiting  for  them  around  the 
nearest  corner. 

"  How  did  you  like  my  plan  ?  "  was  Lester's 
first  question. 

"  It  worked  splendidly — your  plans  always  do," 
replied  Enoch.  "  But  did  you  want  Eoss  to  go 
too  ?  " 

"  I  did,"  answered  Lester,  emphatically.  "  To 
tell  you  the  honest  truth,  I  didn't  want  to  trust 
him." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that,"  observed  Jones, 
"for  he  shelled  out  money  with  a  lavish  hand 
when  we  asked  him  for  it.  If  it  hadn't  been 
for  him,  some  of  us  would  have  been  obliged  to 
stay  behind,  for  we  could  not  have  purchased 
tickets." 


AN   ALARM   AND   A   STAMPEDE.  201 

"Well,  those  who  borrowed  money  from  him 
can  return  it,  can't  they  ?  "  demanded  Lester. 

"  Of  course  they  can,  and  they  will ;  but  since 
Eoss  showed  himself  to  be  so  open-hearted,  I 
really  wish  he  could  have  seen  his  share  of  the 
fun.  However,  if  you  think  he  couldn't  be  trusted, 
that  settles  the  matter." 

"  He'll  be  glad  of  it  when  the  time  for  settle- 
ment comes,"  Enoch  remarked.  "  We'll  stand  by 
him  then,  and  nobody  will  know  that  he  was  one 
of  us." 

As  the  hands  of  the  clock  in  the  depot  began 
moving  slowly  around  toward  one  o'clock,  a  person 
standing  on  the  platform  could  not  have  failed  to 
notice  the  large  number  of  boys  in  gray  overcoats 
who  crossed  the  railroad  track  and  disappeared 
behind  the  long  line  of  freight  cars  that  stood 
opposite.  When  the  lightning  express  came  in, 
they  boarded  it  without  the  least  confusion  or 
noise,  and  not  one  of  the  numerous  hangers-on 
who  were  walking  about  the  platform  seemed  to 
be  the  wiser  for  it.  When  Enoch  came  to  go 
through  the  train  after  it  had  started  on  again,  he 
found  there  was  not  a  single  face  missing  except 
that  of  Wallace  Eoss.  The  latter  heard  the 


202  THE   YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

express  whistle  for  the  station,  and  a  glance  at 
his  watch  showed  him  that  there  was  a  big  mistake 
somewhere.  The  train  was  on  time  ;  but  he  was 
a  mile  or  more  outside  the  village  limits,  and  he 
knew  that  he  could  not  return  in  season  to  catch 
it,  even  if  he  could  have  induced  his  companions 
to  make  the  attempt.  He  was  very  much  disap- 
pointed. He  was  one  of  the  coolest  and  most 
determined  boys  in  Enoch's  party,  and  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  have  a  good  time,  and  to 
submit  without  a  murmur  to  any  punishment  the 
court-martial  might  see  fit  to  visit  upon  him  ;  but 
he  never  once  suspected  that  he  was  the  victim  of 
misplaced  confidence. 

During  the  ride  to  the  city  the  conspirators 
were  very  quiet.  They  could  not  shout  and  sing, 
as  did  the  first-class  boys,  who  came  over  the  road 
a  few  hours  later.  The  bravest  of  them  were 
excited  and  nervous,  and  the  timid  ones  heartily 
wished  themselves  back  in  Bridgeport ;  but  there 
was  not  a  student  among  them  who  dared  say  so 
for  fear  of  being  denounced  as  a  coward.  When 
the  train  came  to  a  stand-still  in  the  depot,  even 
Enoch  began  to  show  a  little  anxiety.  There  were 
more  people  there  than  they  had  expected  to  see, 


AN    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE.  203 

and  the  Silver  Cornet  Band,  which  was  out  in  full 
force,  was  sending  forth  the  strains  of  greeting 
that  ought  to  have  been  reserved  for  a  different 
occasion,  the  tall  form  of  the  drum-major  standing 
in  front,  beating  time  with  his  gold-headed  staff, 
his  bear-skin  cap  towering  high  above  the  heads 
of  all  the  rest  of  the  crowd. 

"  Endicott  has  done  his  work  well,  and  we  are 
in  for  it  as  sure  as  we  are  living,  boys,"  said 
Enoch,  to  a  few  of  his  right-hand  men  who  were 
clustered  about  him.  "  I  see  he  has  secured  pos- 
session of  the  colors,  and  they  will  go  far  toward 
allaying  suspicion.  Now,  Jones,  you  draw  the 
boys  up  in  line,  and  I  will  come  back  and  take 
command  as  soon  as  I  can  say  a  word  to  Endicott. 
I  want  to  know  just  what  he  has  done  so  that  I 
won't  make  any  mistakes." 

The  conspirators,  having  been  thoroughly  in- 
structed, fell  in  without  waiting  for  the  word  of 
command,  Lester  Brigham  proudly  taking  up  his 
position  in  the  second  lieutenant's  place  in  the 
line  of  file-closers.  There  were  a  good  many 
veterans  in  the  city,  and  Lester  felt  elated  to 
think  that  when  they  saw  him  marching  there 
they  would  take  him  for  an  officer. 


204  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

When  Enoch  stepped  off  the  train,  Endicott 
and  his  three  companions,  who  had  done  so  much 
in  so  short  a  time  to  make  the  undertaking  suc- 
cessful, came  forward  and  saluted  him  with  as 
much  respect  as  they  would  have  showed  him 
if  he  had  been  a  real  commander  instead  of  a 
bogus  one. 

"Captain,"  said  Endicott,  "I  have  the  honor 
to  report  that  I  have  secured  the  colors  in  accord- 
ance with  my  instructions.  And,"  he  added, 
in  a  lower  tone,  "  I  claim  the  privilege  of  carry- 
ing one  of  them,  and  Miller  wants  to  carry  the 
other." 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  replied  Enoch,  returning  the 
salute.  Then  he,  too,  lowered  his  voice,  as 
he  asked,  with  some  misgivings  :  "  Where  are 
Blake  and  his  committee  ?  Is  everything  all 
right  ?  " 

"  Blake  and  the  two  fellows  who  came  with  him 
are  probably  out  at  Grove  farm,  wandering  about 
in  the  woods  and  trying  to  find  their  way  back  to 
the  city,"  was  the  reassuring  reply.  "  Sam  has 
brought  back  the  report  that  that  was  where  he 
left  them.  Everything  is  all  right.  Keep  up  a 
bold  front  and  go  ahead  as  though  you  were  really 


AN    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE.  205 

captain  of  the  first  class,  and  no  one  will  suspect 
anything  until  Colonel  Mack  and  the  rest  come  in 
on  the  mail.  You  will  find  a  special  car  over  at 
the  transfer-depot." 

"  Endicott,  you  are  the  best  fellow  for  work  of 
this  sort  I  ever  saw  !  "  said  Enoch,  admiringly. 

"  I  know  it,"  was  the  modest  reply.  "  But  I 
don't  believe  in  doing  things  by  halves.  After 
all,  it  was  no  trouble  for  me  to  get  that  car  at 
reduced  rates,  for  the  men  on  the  other  road  know 
who  1  am.  Now  you  had  better  fall  in  and  go 
ahead.  It  is  almost  train  time." 

After  holding  a  short  consultation  with  the 
leader  of  the  band,  Enoch  went  back  to  take 
command  of  the  company,  at  whose  head  stood 
the  two  color-bearers  ;  one  holding  aloft  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  and  the  other  carrying  the  white, 
gold-fringed  flag  of  the  academy.  At  the  com- 
mand, "Fours,  right — march  !"  they  wheeled  into 
column,  and  moved  off  with  as  much  steadiness 
and  precision  as  a  company  of  veterans.  When 
they  arrived  at  the  transfer-depot  they  halted  long 
enough  to  break  ranks,  after  which  they  boarded 
the  car  that  Endicott  had  been  thoughtful  enough 
to  provide  for  them.  -It  was  the  last  one  on  the 


206  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

train.  It  was  to  be  dropped  at  Bordentown,  and 
picked  up  again  by  the  train  that  came  through 
at  four  in  the  morning.  When  the  boys  were  all 
in  their  seats,  and  the  band  had  come  in,  Enoch 
and  Endicott  went  out  to  see  that  the  dinner  was 
put  into  the  express  car.  It  was  so  very  abundant, 
and  the  number  of  boys  who  went  into  the  rear  car 
was  so  small,  that  it  is  a  wonder  that  Mr.  Taylor 
did  not  suspect  something.  But  he  was  kept  busy 
superintending  the  removal  of  the  eatables,  and, 
besides,  he  probably  thought  that  the  students 
understood  their  own  business  better  than  he  did  ; 
and  so  long  as  he  was  well  paid  for  his  trouble,  he 
did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  bother  his  head 
about  matters  that  were  supposed  to  be  under  the 
charge  of  somebody  else. 

When  the  train  moved  out  of  the  depot,  the 
conspirators  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  and  began 
to  act  more  like  themselves.  Looking  upon  their 
victory  over  the  first-class  boys  as  an  assured 
thing,  they  broke  out  into  cheers  for  Lester  Brig- 
ham,  whom  they  still  believed  to  be  the  originator 
of  the  enterprise  ;  for  Enoch  Williams,  who  had 
managed  everything  so  adroitly ;  and  for  Endicott 
and  his  three  companions,  who  had  spirited  Blake 


AN    ALARM    AND   A    STAMPEDE.  207 

and  the  rest  of  the  committee  of  arrangements 
away  into  the  country,  so  that  they  could  have  a 
clear  field  for  their  operations.  The  band  helped 
the  matter  along  hy  giving  furious  and  discordant 
blasts  upon  their  instruments,  and  the  hubbub 
that  arose  in  that  car  must  have  led  the  people 
living  along  the  road  to  believe  that  there  was  a 
menagerie  aboard. 

"  They're  shouting  before  they  are  out  of  the 
woods,"  said  the  long-headed  Enoch.  "  They 
seem  to  forget  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
telegraph  in  this  part  of  the  United  States. 
Jones,  when  we  reach  the  hall,  you  had  better 
station  a  sentry  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  with 
orders  to  allow  no  outsider  to  go  by  him.  In  that 
way  we  shall  be  able  to  intercept  any  little  dis- 
patches that  the  first-class  boys  may  send  to  Mr. 
Taylor." 

"  But  won't  he  be  mad  when  he  finds  out  how 
nicely  he  has  been  fooled  ?  "  exclaimed  Lester,  as 
if  the  thought  had  just  occurred  to  him. 

"I  believe  you,"  assented  Enoch.  "  He  is  a  big 
man,  and  could  make  it  very  uncomfortable  for  us 
if  he  should  set  about  it.  That's  the  reason  I 
want  that  sentry  placed  in  the  hall.  We  must  eat 


208  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  dinner,  have  our  speeches,  toasts  and  Bongs, 
and  get  back  to  Hamilton  before  he  hears  any  bad 
news.  If  we  don't,  we  shall  find  ourselves  in  hot 
water." 

Lester  and  Jones  had  never  thought  of  these 
things  before,  but  now  they  began  to  see  that  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  dinner  were  not  the  only 
ones  they  had  to  fear.  There  were  Mr.  Taylor  and 
his  assistants,  and  there  were  the  members  of  the 
band — twenty  big,  stout  Germans,  who  would  be 
likely  to  express  their  opinion  of  the  afternoon's 
proceedings  in  a  way  that  would  be  by  no  means 
agreeable.  It  was  plain  that  the  conspirators  had 
placed  themselves  in  a  very  unenviable  situation, 
and  that  nothing  but  the  exercise  of  the  greatest 
caution  could  bring  them  safely  out  of  it. 

In  due  time  the  train  reached  Bordentown,  and 
when  it  stopped  in  front  of  the  depot,  Enoch  was 
greatly  disgusted  and  not  a  little  alarmed  to  dis- 
cover that  the  only  fire  company  of  which  the 
place  could  boast,  had  turned  out  to  escort  the 
visitors  to  the  hotel  in  which  the  banquet  was  to 
be  held.  The  little  village  had  never  before  been 
honored  by  a  class  dinner,  and  the  people  intended 
to  treat  the  boys  so  well  that  they  would  use  their 


AN    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE.  209 

influence  to  induce  the  next  graduating  class  to 
hold  their  dinner  there  also.  Enoch  saw  it  all, 
but  before  he  could  express  his  sentiments  regard- 
ing the  action  of  the  fire  company,  or  ask  advice 
of  any  of  his  counselors,  the  train  came  to  a  stand- 
still, and  the  foreman,  trumpet  in  hand,  entered 
the  car. 

"  Captain  ?  "  said  he,  looking  around  inquir- 
ingly ;  whereupon  Lester  and  Jones  pointed  to 
Enoch. 

"  Captain,  I  am  glad  to  meet  you,"  continued 
the  foreman,  "  and  in  behalf  of  Deluge  Number 
One,  I  have  the  honor  to  tender  you  the  escort  of 
the  company  through  the  principal  streets  of  the 
village  to  the  hotel." 

All  the  conspirators  heard  the  foreman's  words, 
and  their  faces  betrayed  the  utmost  consternation. 
Enoch  was  the  only  one  among  them  who  kept 
his  wits  about  him. 

'•  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  he,  returning  the  fire- 
man's salute.  "  You  are  very  kind,  and  I  am 
proud  to  accept  your  offer  of  escort.  What  do 
you  want  me  to  do  ?  " 

"  You,  will  please  form  on  the  right  of  my  com- 
pany, which  is  drawn  up  in  line  on  the  other  side 


210  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

of  the  depot.  Let  your  band  march  in  the  centre. 
We  have  nothing  better  than  a  drum  corps,  but 
we  can  give  you  a  noisy,  if  not  a  musical,  wel- 
come." 

The  foreman  continued  to  talk  in  this  way  while 
the  car  was  being  side-tracked  ;  and  he  looked  so 
jolly  and  good-natured,  and  seemed  so  anxious  to 
do  something  to  please  the  boys,  that  Jones's  heart 
smote  him. 

"  I  declare,  it  is  too  bad  to  fool  a  man  like 
that,"  said  he,  when  he  had  a  chance  to  say  a 
word  to  Enoch  in  private.  "  I'll  bet  he's  a  splen- 
did fellow." 

"  I  know  he  is,"  was  Enoch's  reply.  "  But  how 
are  we  going  to  keep  from  fooling  him  ?  We 
didn't  ask  him  to  come  out  here,  and  we  can't 
very  well  request  him  to  withdraw  his  company 
and  leave  us  alone.  It  wouldn't  be  safe  for  us  to 
tell  him  how  the  thing  stands,  for  he's  a  stranger, 
and  we  don't  know  how  far  to  trust  him.  He's 
here,  and  we've  got  to  do  as  he  says." 

And  they  did,  although  there  were  many  among 
them  who  wished  that  the  foreman  had  been  in 
Guinea  or  some  other  place  before  he  came  out  to 
offer  them  the  escort  of  his  company.  He  did  it 


AN   ALARM   AND   A   STAMPEDE.  211 

out  of  the  goodness  of  his  heart,  of  course,  but  all 
the  same  his  unsolicited  attentions  were  a  nui- 
sance as  well  as  a  source  of  uneasiness  and  alarm 
to  the  conspirators,  who  had  hoped  to  go  and 
come  without  attracting  anybody's  notice. 

When  their  car  had  been  pushed  upon  the  side- 
track, and  the  train  had  cut  loose  from  it  and 
gone  on,  the  conspirators  disembarked  at  the  word 
of  command,  and  marching  with  soldier-like  step 
and  well-aligned  ranks,  moved  down  the  street  to 
take  the  position  assigned  them.  Then  the  parade 
began.  It  didn't  amount  to  much,  of  course,  but 
the  village  people  and  the  farmers  and  their  fami- 
lies who  had  come  miles  in  their  big  lumber 
wagons  on  purpose  to  witness  it,  evidently  thought 
it  something  grand,  for  they  thronged  the  streets 
on  both  sides  and  cheered  the  students  loudly  at 
every  turn.  After  marching  through  the  principal 
thoroughfares — and  there  were  so  few  of  them  that 
it  did  not  take  them  long  to  do  that — the  column 
was  halted  in  front  of  the  hotel,  the  band  fell  out 
and  the  firemen  formed  open  ranks,  facing  inward. 
When  the  students,  in  obedience  to  Enoch's  com- 
mand, executed  the  movement  "  fours  right  "  and 
then  "right  by  twos,"  and  passed  through  their 


212  THE    YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

lines,  the  firemen  saluted  them  by  uncovering 
their  heads,  the  boys  replying  in  the  same  way. 
There  was  scarcely  one  among  them  who  did  not 
despise  himself  for  receiving  and  returning  honors 
which  he  was  not  entitled  to  receive  or  return,  but 
there  was  no  help  for  it. 

The  dining-room  of  the  hotel  had  been  engaged 
for  the  evening,  and  when  the  students  had 
marched  into  it  and  broken  ranks,  Enoch  took  a 
hasty  glance  about  him  and  then  called  his  trusty 
counselors,  Jones,  Lester  and  Endicott,  together 
for  a  consultation.  The  landlord  had  made  a  des- 
perate attempt  to  decorate  the  room  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  had  succeeded  remarkably  well,  consider- 
ing the  very  short  notice  he  had  received.  The 
walls  were  covered  with  flags  and  wreaths  of 
evergreen,  and  the  long  tables,  which  sparkled 
with  glass  and  silverware,  were  adorned  with  a 
profusion  of  flowers. 

"  Now,  here's  another  pretty  mess,"  said  Enoch 
to  his  counselors.  "  I  don't  mind  fooling  such 
fellows  as  the  first-class  boys,  who  hold  that  we 
have  no  rights  that  they  are  bound  to  respect,  but 
when  it  comes  to  taking  in  a  jolly  lot  like  these 
firemen,  I  weaken.  They  have  done  the  very  best 


AX    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE.  213 

they  could  for  us,  and  it  would  be  nothing  more 
than  a  civil  thing  on  our  part  to  ask  them  to  help 
us  eat  the  dinner." 

"  I  don't  see  how  we  can  get  around  it,"  ob- 
served Endicott,  while  the  others  shook  their 
heads  and  looked  very  solemn.  Their  actions  and 
the  expression  of  their  faces  seemed  to  say  that  it 
was  a  bad  business  altogether,  and  they  wished 
they  were  well  out  of  it. 

"  Neither  do  I,"  said  Enoch.  "  They  will  ac- 
cept, of  course,  but  none  of  our  crowd  will  ever 
dare  show  their  faces  in  Bordentown  again." 

"  Why  couldn't  they  have  kept  away  and  left  us 
alone  ?  "  exclaimed  Lester,  pettishly. 

"  They  could,  but  they  didn't  ;  they're  here,  and 
we've  got  to  ask  them  to  -spend  the  evening  with 
us.  Let's  do  it  at  once  and  be  done  with  it." 

So  saying,  Enoch,  accompanied  by  his  three 
right-hand  men,  walked  up  to  the  foreman,  and 
Endicott,  who  was  a  smooth-tongued  fellow,  form- 
ally invited  him  and  his  company  to  remain  at  the 
hotel  as  guests  of  the  Bridgeport  boys. 

"  We  can  promise  you  one  of  Mr.  Taylors  best 
dinners,  but  not  much  of  an  entertainment — not 
near  as  elaborate  as  it  was  intended  to  be,"  said 


214  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

Endicott.  "  The  programme  was  changed  at  the 
very  last  minute,  and  this  dinner  will  not  be  as 
grand  as  class  dinners  usually  are.  We  have 
brought  the  music  with  us,  and  perhaps  it  is  not 
too  late  to  get  up  an  impromptu  dance  this  even- 
ing, if  you '' 

Endicott  suddenly  paused,  for  the  scowl  he  saw 
on  Enoch's  face  was  dark  and  threatening.  It 
told  him  in  plain  language  that  he  was  going 
altogether  too  far.  The  foreman  did  not  see  it, 
however,  and  he  hastened  to  assure  the  boys  that 
nothing  would  afford  him  greater  pleasure;  and 
as  for  the  dance — why,  that  could  be  easily  ar- 
ranged. Country  girls  were  always  ready  for  such 
things,  he  said,  and  as  they  did  not  have  as  much 
fixing  and  fussing  to  go  through  with  as  city 
belles  did,  he  and  his  men  would  undertake  to  fill 
the  hall  with  them  by  eight  o'clock  that  evening. 

"Now  you've  done  it,"  exclaimed  Enoch,  as 
the  foreman  hurried  away  to  tell  his  men  about 
the  hop  that  was  to  come  off  after  the  dinner  had 
been  disposed  of.  "  Endicott,  of  all  the  blunder- 
heads I  ever  saw,  you  are  the  beat." 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter  ?  ''  demanded  the 
latter,  who  couldn't  see  that  he  had  done  any- 


AN    ALARM    AND    A    STAMPEDE.  215 

thing  out  of  the  way.  "  We  can't  get  any  deeper 
into  the  mud  than  we  are  now,  and  we  might  as 
well  have  all  the  fun  we  can  to-night,  for  it  will 
be  a  long  time  before  we  shall  have  another 
chance.  To-morrow  we  shall  be  called  upon  to 
settle  with  the  fiddler." 

"  You've  got  us  into  a  pretty  pickle  all  the 
same,"  retorted  Enoch.  "  It  is  bad  enough  to 
fool  a  lot  of  men ;  but  when  it  comes  to  sailing 
under  false  colors  before  a  party  of  girls — Eudi- 
cott,  you  ought  to  have  had  better  sense.  If 
anything  leaks  out,  those  big,  strapping  firemen 
will  make  mince-meat  of  us." 

"  Good  gracious  !  "  exclaimed  Lester  and  Jones, 
in  a  breath  ;  and  even  Endicott  looked  rather 
sober. 

"  But  we  mustn't  let  anything  leak  out,"  said 
he.  "The  boys  have  kept  still  tongues  in  their 
heads  so  far,  and  why  should  they  begin  to  blab 
now,  when  we  are  in  the  very  midst  of  danger  f  " 

"  There's  just  this  much  about  it,"  said  Enoch, 
without  replying  to  Endicott's  question.  "  I 
shall  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  dig  out  at  the 
very  first  note  of  warning,  and  my  advice  to  you 
and  the  rest  of  the  fellows  is  to  do  the  same. 


216  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

The  punishment  the  first-class  boys  will  visit 
upon  us,  if  they  get  the  chance,  won't  be  a  patch- 
ing to  the  pounding  we  shall  get  from  these 
Yahoos  if  they  discover  that  they  and  their  girls 
have  been  duped.  I  didn't  feel  any  great  uneasi- 
ness before,  but  I  tell  you  I  shall  be  on  the  alert 
now." 

There  were  some  very  badly  frightened  boys 
among  the  conspirators  when  Endicott's  indiscre- 
tion became  known,  and  Enoch  thought  they 
looked  more  like  a  lot  of  hunted  criminals  than 
anything  else  to  which  he  could  compare  them. 
The  majority  of  them  could  not  bear  to  remain 
inactive  in  the  dining-room,  so  they  went  out  on 
the  street,  where  they  could  have  a  fair  chance  to 
take  to  their  heels  should  occasion  seem  to  require 
it ;  but  some  of  the  sharpest  of  them,  such  fellows 
as  Lester,  Enoch  and  Jones,  and  their  particular 
friends  Barry,  Dale  and  Morris,  thought  that 
headquarters,  that  is  the  dining-room,  was  the 
safest  place  for  them.  They  knew  that  if  any  of 
the  first-class  boys  sent  a  telegram  to  Mr.  Taylor 
it  would  be  brought  straight  to  the  hotel,  and 
they  wanted  to  make  sure  that  he  didn't  get  it. 
Colonel  Mack,  as  we  know,  did  send  a  dispatch  to 


AN   ALARM   AND   A   STAMPEDE.  217 

Mr.  Taylor,  but  it  did  not  in  any  way  interfere 
with  the  plans  of  the  conspirators,  because  it  came 
too  late.  The  interruption  to  their  little  pro- 
gramme came  from  a  different  source  altogether. 

It  happened  about  two  hours  after  they  reached 
Bordentown.  The  most  of  the  students  were 
strolling  about  the  village  to  see  what  they  could 
find  that  was  worth  looking  at ;  the  firemen  had 
scattered  in  all  directions  to  hunt  up  girls  for  the 
hop ;  and  Enoch  and  the  boys  whose  names  we 
have  mentioned  above  were  walking  up  and  down 
the  dining-roorn,  watching  Mr.  Taylor  and  his 
assistants,  who  were  busily  engaged  in  placing  a 
tempting  array  of  viands  upon  the  tables,  when 
suddenly  the  shrill  scream  of  a  locomotive  whistle 
— a  triumphant  scream  that  had  a  volume  of 
meaning  in  it — rent  the  air.  An  instant  later  the 
door  was  dashed  violently  open,  and  a  pale  and 
excited  student,  whose  intense  alarm  seemed  to 
have  robbed  him  of  all  his  senses,  rushed  in, 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

"  Oh,  boys,  there's  the  very  mischief  to  pay  ! 
Here  come  Blake  and  a  whole  crowd  of  fellows  ! 
Get  out  o'  this  quick.  They  are  talking  with 
some  of  the  firemen." 


218  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

This  startling  announcement  was  enough  to 
frighten  anybody.  It  even  took  away  the  last 
particle  of  Enoch's  courage.  He  stood  as  motion- 
less as  if  he  had  grown  fast  to  the  floor,  while 
Mr.  Taylor  and  his  assistants  paused  with  their 
hands  full  of  dishes  and  looked  at  one  another. 
Enoch  was  the  first  to  recover  himself  and  to 
think  of  escape.  The  burly  form  of  the  caterer 
was  interposed  between  himself  and  the  door,  and 
as  the  boy  did  not  dare  attempt  to  pass  him,  he 
turned  and  made  a  dash  for  the  nearest  window, 
his  example  being  followed  by  all  his  companions. 
This  retrograde  movement  aroused  Mr.  Taylor, 
and  at  the  same  time  opened  his  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  he  had  been  very  neatly  taken  in.  Slamming 
down  the  dishes  he  held  in  his  hands,  he  called 
out,  in  angry  tones  : 

"  Stop  those  boys  !  Catch  the  captain ;  he  is 
at  the  bottom  of  it  all." 

Mr.  Taylor  started  forward  to  obey  his  own 
order ;  but  he  was  slow  as  well  as  heavy,  while 
Enoch  was  like  a  cat  in  his  movements.  As  quick 
as  a  flash  he  threw  up  the  window,  and  dropping 
lightly  to  the  ground,  made  off  at  an  astonishing 
rate  of  speed.  He  was  out  of  sight  in  an  instant. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

A  TREACHEROUS   COACHMAN. 

TET  us  now  go  back  to  Blake,  the  energetic 
-*—*  chairman  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, to  whose  careful  management  the  boys  in 
the  first  class  had  intrusted  their  affairs  in  Ham- 
ilton, and  see  where  he  was  and  what  he  had  been 
doing  all  this  while.  The  last  time  we  saw  him 
he  and  two  companions,  Forester  and  White,  were 
standing  in  the  lower  hall  at  the  academy,  listen- 
ing to  some  very  emphatic  instructions  from 
Clark,  the  president  of  the  class,  after  which  they 
hurried  out  to  take  the  early  train  for  the  city. 
They  were  going  to  look  at  the  hall  which  the 
proprietor,  Mr.  Colson,  had  been  requested  to 
decorate  in  his  best  style,  for  the  banquet  that 
was  to  be  held  there  that  night,  and  to  speak  to 
Mr.  Taylor  about  the  dinner,  for  which  he  had 
been  instructed  to  provide  two  hundred  covers. 


220  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

If  the  arrangements  were  satisfactory,  they  were 
to  ease  President  Clark's  mind  by  telegraphing 
the  fact  at  once  ',  and  if  there  were  anything  lack- 
ing, they  were  empowered  to  set  it  right  without 
loss  of  time.  These  three  boys  were  the  only 
members  of  the  class  who  had  been  to  Hamilton 
thus  far.  Their  companions  had  left  everything 
to  their  judgment,  and  of  course  they  felt  their 
responsibility,  and  were  anxious  to  make  the 
dinner  as  grand  as  it  was  expected  to  be. 

There  was  a  goodly  number  of  students  on  the 
train,  members  of  other  classes  who  were  going  to 
the  city  to  spend  the  day  with  their  parents,  and 
this  proved  to  be  a  very  fortunate  thing  for  Blake. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  assistance  which  they 
willingly  and  eagerly  rendered  him,  he  and  his 
committee  would  have  gone  back  to  Bridgeport 
without  the  courage  to  hold  up  their  heads. 
They  reached  Hamilton  without  any  mishap,  and 
the  first  person  Blake  encountered,  as  he  jumped 
off  the  cars,  was  a  negro  with  a  very  shiny  face,  a 
roguish  eye  and  a  bald  head,  who  came  up  hold- 
ing his  hat  in  his  hand. 

"Which  one  of  you  young  gentlemen  is  Mr. 
Blake;  if  you  please,  sah  ?  "  was  his  greeting. 


A    TREACHEROUS    COACHMAN.  221 

"  I  am,"  replied  the  owner  of  that  name. 

"  Well,  sah,  if  you  please,  sah,"  continued  the 
negro,  "I'se  driving  coach  for  Mr.  Taylor  at  the 
present  opporchunity,  sah,  and  he  done  sont  zne 
down  hyar  this  mawning  to  tol'  you  as  how  he 
was  tuk  sick  at  the  residence  of  his  paternal 
father  out  in  the  country  las'  night,  and  that  he 
can't  possibly  officiate  with  his  official  services  on 
the  happiness  of  the  present  occasion  of  this 
evening  ;  therefore,  he  requests,  as  a  peculiar 
and  macadamize  favor  to  himself,  that  you  will 
come  out  to  the  house  of  his  paternal  parents  so 
that  he  can  talk  to  you  about  the  dinner,  you 
know,  sah.  He  done  sont  me  with  the  coach  to 
brung  you." 

The  boys  would  have  been  greatly  amused  had 
it  not  been  for  the  discouraging  information  which 
the  coachman  strove  to  impart  by  his  grandilo- 
quent verbiage.  Mr.  Taylor  was  ill,  he  could  not 
"  officiate "  at  the  dinner  that  evening,  and  he 
had  sent  the  negro  to  bring  them  out  to  his 
father's  house  in  the  country,  so  that  he  could  tell 
them  what  to  do  in  his  absence. 

"  That's  the  worst  piece  of  news  I  have  heard 
in  a  long  time,"  exclaimed  Blake.  "  Everything 


222  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

has  gone  well  with  us  so  far,  and  now  the  trouble 
begins.  There's  nobody  who  can  manage  that 
dinner  like  Mr.  Taylor." 

"  That,  sah,  is  a  question  beyond  dispute," 
assented  the  negro. 

"I  suppose  we  had  better  go  with  him,"  said 
White.  "  If  Mr.  Taylor  can't  give  us  the  benefit 
of  his  services,  we  want  to  know  how  to  get  on 
without  him.  How  far  is  it,  uncle  ?  " 

"  Sam,  sah,"  corrected  the  coachman.  "  That's 
my  name.  The  distance  of  the  journey  is  imma- 
terial—about fo'  miles.  The  horses  are  speedy, 
and  will  take  you  out  there  while  you  are  talking 
about  it.  This  way,  sah  ;  right  this  way.  Hyar's 
the  carnage." 

The  negro  led  the  way  through  the  depot  to  the 
sidewalk,  where  he  had  left  his  vehicle,  an  elegant 
barouche,  in  charge  of  a  footman  as  black  as  him- 
self. The  boys  got  in  without  hesitation,  the 
coachman  and  his  companion  mounted  to  their 
places  on  the  box,  and  the  swift  horses  whirled 
them  away  toward  the  country.  The  moment 
they  were  out  of  sight,  four  boys  came  out  of  the 
baggage-room  in  which  they  had  been  concealed, 
and  one  of  them  stepping  up  to  the  window  of  the 


A   TREACHEROUS   COACHMAN.  223 

telegraph-office,  wrote  a  dispatch  addressed  to 
Julius  Clark,  Bridgeport  Military  Academy.  It 
ran  as  follows  : 

"  Everything  is  just  as  it  should  be.  There  is 
no  hitch  anywhere.  The  hall  looks  beautiful, 
and  the  dinner  is  lovely.  I  hope  the  fellows  will 
be  satisfied  with  what  we  have  done." 

Another  boy,  whose  name  was  Baker,  then 
came  forward  and  affixed  his  initials,  G.  E.  B.,  to 
the  dispatch,  and  the  operator  sent  it  off. 

"  There,  sir,"  observed  Endicott,  as  he  and  his 
three  friends  turned  away  from  the  window,  "  that 
telegram  contains  nothing  but  the  truth.  The 
hall  really  is  magnificent — you  know  that  was 
what  we  said  when  we  saw  it  last  night — and  so 
is  the  dinner.  Everything  is  just  as  it  should  be, 
for  us,  there  has  been  nothing  to  interfere  with 
our  programme  so  far,  and  I  certainly  hope  the 
fellows — our  fellows — will  be  satisfied  with  what 
we  have  done.  If,  when  Clark  receives  the  dis- 
patch, he  chooses  to  think  that  the  letters 
G.  E.  B.  stand  for  George  E.  Blake  instead  of 
Gilbert  E.  Baker,  he  is  welcome  to  do  it.  It 
won't  be  our  fault,  will  it  ?  " 


224  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

Meanwhile  Blake  and  his  unsuspecting  commit- 
tee were  being  carried  farther  and  farther  into  the 
country.  When  they  began  to  think  it  was  about 
time  that  the  "foj  miles  "  were  accomplished,  the 
coachman  informed  them,  in  response  to  their 
inquiries,  that  they  were  only  about  half  way  to 
Mr.  Taylor's  house — that  miles  in  the  country 
were  about  twice  as  long  as  they  were  in  the  city, 
and  with  that  explanation  they  were  obliged  to  be 
content.  At  length  the  carriage  was  driven  into 
a  piece  of  thick  woods,  through  which  the  road 
wound  and  twisted  in  the  most  bewildering 
fashion.  The  coachman  told  them  that  he  was 
taking  a  short-cut  by  which  he  would  save  half 
an  hour's  driving  over  the  very  worst  road  in 
America ;  but  on  this  point  the  boys  were  in- 
clined to  be  skeptical. 

"  I  should  say  that  this  was  the  very  worst  road 
in  the  known  world,"  exclaimed  Forester,  as  he  and 
Blake  clung  to  opposite  sides  of  the  seat  to  keep 
from  being  dashed  against  each  other.  "  If  Mr. 
Taylor  doesn't  give  you  a  good  overhauling  for 
straining  the  springs  of  his  carriage,  I  shall 
always  think  he  ought  to.  Perhaps  you  had 
better  let  us  get  out  and  walk." 


A    TUEACHEliOUS   COACHMAN.  225 

"  Oh  no,  sab/'  protested  the  negro.  "  Mr. 
Taylor  wouldn't  like  for  me  to  drap  you  young 
gentlemen  in  the  mud.  We  are  most  da'  now, 
but  I  tell  you  befo'  ban'  that  I  can't  take  you 
close  to  the  residence  by  this  road.  Ill  have  to 
drap  you  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  let  you  walk 
across  the  pastur'. " 

The  hoys  said  they  wouldn't  mind  that,  but 
still  they  were  somewhat  surprised  when  the  car- 
riage came  to  a  stand  in  the  deepest  and  darkest 
part  of  the  woods,  and  the  coachman  sprang  down 
to  open  the  door.  On  their  right  was  a  thick 
brush  fence,  inclosing  a  piece  of  barren  and  rocky 
pasture  j  and  the  coachman  told  them  that  when 
they  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  they  would 
see  Mr.  Taylor's  house  in  the  valley  below  them. 
It  wasn't  more  than  five  minutes'  walk,  he 
said,  and  he  would  wait  there  until  they  came 
back. 

It  was  the  greatest  wonder  in  the  world  that 
Blake  and  his  companions  did  not  begin  to  sus- 
pect something  by  this  time,  but  they  didn't. 
Their  minds  were  so  fully  occupied  with  Mr. 
Taylor's  illness,  and  with  thoughts  of  their  dinner, 
which  they  knew  would  not  pass  off  half  as 


226  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

smoothly  without  him  as  it  would  with  him,  that 
they  could  not  think  of  anything  else.  They 
thought  it  rather  strange  that  Mr.  Taylor's  man 
should  dump  them  in  the  woods  when  he  had 
been  ordered  to  bring  them  to  the  house,  and  they 
told  one  another  so  as  they  toiled  up  the  steep 
hill  in  the  pasture  ;  but  still  they  did  not  dream 
of  treachery  until  they  reached  the  top  and  found 
that  there  was  no  house  in  sight.  All  they  could 
see  before  them  was  a  deep  and  thickly-wooded 
ravine,  with  another  hill  on  the  other  side  of  it, 
as  high  and  barren  as  the  one  on  which  they 
stood. 

"  Now,  then,  what  does  this  meaii  ? "  said 
Blake. 

"  And  where  is  the  carriage  ?  "  chimed  in  For- 
ester. 

Sure  enough,  where  was  it  ?  Like  the  house 
of  which  they  were  in  search,  it  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen.  It  had  been  driven  noiselessly  away 
while  their  backs  were  turned.  Even  then  the 
truth  did  not  dawn  upon  them  until  after  they 
had  compared  notes. 

"  Now,  what  does  that  mean  ?  "  exclaimed 
Blake.  "  That  darkey  never  brought  us  out 


A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN.        227 

here  for  nothing.  There's  something  back  of  it, 
hut  what  is  it  ?  " 

"  It  hasn't  got  anything  to  do  with  our  dinner, 
has  it  ?  "  inquired  White. 

His  companions  looked  hlankly  at  each  other, 
but  made  no  reply.  They  hadn't  thought  of 
that. 

"  I  am  almost  sure  it  has  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
it,"  continued  White;  "and  we  mustn't  stand 
idling  here  while  there  may  be  bad  work  going  on 
in  the  city.  You  remember  what  Lester  Brigham 
did  last  term,  don't  you  ?  " 

The  sound  of  that  name  seemed  to  put  life  into 
all  the  boys  at  once.  With  one  accord  they 
started  on  a  keen  run  down  the  hill,  scrambled 
through  the  fence  at  the  imminent  risk  of  ruining 
their  fine  uniforms,  and  began  following  up  the 
tracks  made  by  the  carriage  when  it  was  driven 
away.  For  a  time  the  trail  was  plain  enough ;  but 
presently  it  ran  into  another  road  that  had  been 
badly  cut  up  by  heavy  log-wagons,  and  there  it 
was  lost.  They  spent  half  an  hour  or  more  trying 
to  find  it,  knowing  that  it  would  lead  them  out 
of  the  woods  by  the  shortest  route,  and  then  gave 
it  up  in  despair,  and  ran  about  in  every  direction 


228  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

looking  for  the  road  that  would  lead  them  to  the 
city  ;  but  that,  too,  seemed  to  have  disappeared 
as  mysteriously  as  the  carriage-tracks.  Then 
they  tried  to  retrace  their  steps  to  the  fence,  so 
that  they  could  take  a  new  start,  but  soon  found 
that  they  couldn't  even  do  that.  Sam  had  done 
his  work  well,  and  Blake  and  his  committee  were 
as  effectually  lost  as  Endicott  could  have  wished 
them  to  be.  They  talked  the  matter  over  while 
they  were  roaming  about,  and  had  finally  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  Lester  Brigham  and  some 
of  his  particular  friends  had  sprung  a  trap  on 
them  ;  but  what  the  object  of  it  was,  they  could 
not  determine.  The  idea  that  he  intended  to 
run  off  with  their  dinner  never  once  entered  their 
heads. 

"  Blake,  have  you  done  anything  during  the 
term  to  make  him  angry  at  you?"  asked  Forester, 
who  was  first  corporal  of  his  company.  "  Have 
you,  White  ?  Well,  I  haven't  either.  I  put  him 
into  an  awkward  squad  once  by  the  superin- 
tendent's orders,  and  gave  him  a  pretty  sharp 
drill  in  the  manual  of  arms  to  teach  him  to  mind 
what  he  was  about  when  he  was  on  dress  parade  ; 
but  I  didn't  haze  him." 


A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN.        229 

"No  matter,"  returned  Blake.  "He  thought 
you  did,  and  this  is  the  result.  He  means  to 
cheat  us  out  of  our  dinner  ;  but  if  he  succeeds, 
I'll  give  him  a  dressing-down  the  first  time  I  meet 
him  that  will  do  his  heart  good." 

The  other  hoys  made  the  mental  resolution  that 
they  would  do  the  same  thing ;  but  before  they 
could  accomplish  their  object,  it  was  necessary  that 
they  should  get  out  of  the  woods.  At  one  time 
it  looked  as  though  they  might  have  to  stay  there 
for  an  indefinite  period  ;  but  fortunately  they  met 
a  farmer  who  was  on  his  way  from  the  city.  His 
wagon  was  empty,  and  if  he  had  had  a  team  of 
horses  the  weary  students  would  have  hired  him 
to  take  them  to  Hamilton  ;  but  he  was  driving  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  which  he  was  obliged  to  pound  con- 
tinually in  order  to  keep  them  moving,  and  the 
boys  wisely  concluded  that  they  could  cover  the 
distance  that  lay  between  them  and  the  city  in 
much  less  time  than  the  lazy  cattle  could.  The 
farmer  told  them  which  way  to  go  to  find  the 
main  road — of  course,  they  were  walking  straight 
away  from  it — and  made  them  groan  by  telling 
them  that  Hamilton  was  eight  miles  distant — good 
long  miles,  too. 


THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

It  took  them  three-quarters  of  an  hour  to  find 
the  road,  and  then  they  stopped  to  take  a  good 
look  at  themselves.  Their  uniforms  were  soiled, 
their  boots  covered  with  mud,  their  hands  and 
faces  scratched  with  briers,  their  overcoats  stuck 
full  of  burrs,  and  taken  altogether  they  looked 
very  unlike  the  spruce  young  soldiers  who  had 
passed  that  way  a  few  hours  before. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Blake,  as  he  struck  out  at 
his  best  pace  for  the  city.  "  We  are  going  where 
there  are  plenty  of  barber- shops,  and  half  an 
hour's  work  will  set  us  right  again." 

"  But  we  shall  look  like  black  sheep  in  the 
flock  when  we  go  to  the  dinner  to-night,"  said 
White.  "  That  ebony  rascal  took  our  grip-sacks 
away  with  him." 

So  he  had  ;  and  with  them  he  had  taken  their 
epaulets,  white  belts  and  gloves,  and  polished 
brass  buckles,  which  they  had  expected  to  put  on 
before  they  went  into  the  hall. 

WThile  on  their  way  to  the  city,  the  students 
kept  close  watch  of  the  road  behind  them,  hoping 
that  some  one  would  come  along  and  give  them  a 
lift ;  but  the  teams  were  all  going  in  the  wrong 
direction,  and  it  was  not  until  they  were  within 


A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN.       231 

two  miles  of  their  journey's  end  that  they  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  ride.  They  went  at  cnce 
to  Mr.  Taylor's  restaurant,  and  found  it  almost 
deserted.  There  were  only  two  or  three  waiters 
there,  and  it  was  with  no  little  trepidation  that 
Blake  inquired  for  the  proprietor. 

"  He's  gone  to  Bordentown,"  replied  the  cashier, 
briskly;  and  the  boys  thought  he  looked  a  little 
surprised  to  see  them  in  so  dilapidated  a  con- 
dition. 

"  Then  he  isn't  ill  ?  "  said  Blake. 

"  111 !  No.  He  couldn't  afford  to  be  just  now, 
on  account  of  the  dinner,  you  know.  The  under- 
standing was  that  the  festivities  were  to  be  held  in 
Clarendon  Hall,  and  we  didn't  know  until  the  last 
moment  that  different  arrangements  had  been 
made.  The  change  in  the  programme  was  rather 
sudden,  but  our  house  was  equal  to  it,"  said  the 
cashier,  with  some  pride  in  his  tones.  "  We  got 
the  dinner  to  the  transfer-depot  in  good  shape, 
and  it  has  gone  to  Bordentown ;  but  why  the 
cadets  should  want  to  go  to  that  out-of-the-way 
place  I  can't  imagine.  Do  you  fellows  belong 
to  the  graduating  class  ?  If  you  do,  you  are 
left." 


232  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Do  you  know  of  any  one  living  in  the  city 
who  employs  a  colored  coachman  and  footman  ?  " 
inquired  Blake,  without  replying  to  the  cashier's 
question.  He  had  all  a  school-boy's  horror  of 
being  laughed  at,  and  he  dreaded  the  explosion 
of  merriment,  which  he  knew  would  follow  if  the 
man  should  learn  what  had  happened  to  him  and 
his  companions.  Their  dinner  had  been  spirited 
away,  they  saw  that  plainly  enough,  and  it  was 
too  serious  a  matter  to  be  laughed  over.  It  could 
never  be  settled  short  of  a  fight. 

"  Oh,  that  reminds  me  of  something,"  exclaimed 
the  cashier.  "Mr.  Endicott's  black  coachman, 
Sam,  has  just  been  in  here,  and  left  these  valises, 
which  he  requested  me  to  hand  to  Mr.  Blake  if  he 
should  happen  around." 

Blake  and  his  friends  did  not  care  a  snap  of 
their  fingers  for  their  valises  just  then.  The 
articles  they  contained  would  be  of  no  use  to 
them  that  night,  and  so  they  asked  permission  to 
leave  them  in  the  cashier's  charge  for  a  few  hours 
longer.  Then  they  went  out  on  the  sidewalk 
and  held  a  short  council  of  war  as  they  moved 
along. 

"  Did  anybody  ever  hear  of  anything  so  exas- 


A   TREACHEROUS   COACHMAN.  233 

perating  ?  "  exclaimed  Forester,  who  was  so  angry 
that  he  could  scarcely  speak  plainly.  "Why 
didn't  you  ask  him  what  sort  of  a  looking  fellow  it 
was  who  came  to  him  and  told  him  that  the  class 
had  decided  to  eat  their  dinner  in  Bordentown  ?  " 

"  I  had  two  reasons,"  answered  Blake.  "  In 
the  first  place,  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  ask 
him  any  questions.  I  know  who  it  was." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  White.  "  It  was  one  of  Brig- 
ham's  crowd — one  of  the  fellows  who  helped  him 
steal  Mr.  Packard's  yacht  last  term."  . 

"  And  in  the  next  place,"  continued  Blake,  "  I 
did  not  want  to  let  him  into  our  secret.  There  is 
no  need  that  we  should  tell  it  to  some  one  who 
will  spread  it  all  over  town  before  we  can  have  a 
chance  to  retrieve  the  day." 

Blake's  companions  looked  at  him  in  great  sur- 
prise. They  had  given  the  dinner  up  for  lost,  but 
it  was  plain  that  the  chairman  didn't  consider  that 
he  and  his  class  had  been  beaten  yet. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  are  going  to  try 
to  get  it  back  ?  "  demanded  Forester. 

"  1  mean  that  Lester  Brigham  and  his  crowd 
shan't  eat  that  dinner,  but  our  fellows  shall,"  said 
Blake,  quietly  but  firmly.  "  Don't  ask  me  what 


234  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

I  am  going  to  do,  because  I  can't  tell  until  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Colson.  We  are  all  acquainted  with 
him,  and  we  know  that  he  can  be  trusted.  Let's 
go  and  ask  him  to  tell  us  what  happened  here  this 
morning,  and  then  we  shall  know  how  to  go  to 
work  to  circumvent  those  pirates." 

The  boys  had  no  trouble  in  finding  Mr.  Colson. 
He  was  sitting  in  his  office  at  Clarendon  Hall,  and 
fortunately  he  was  alone.  He  looked  up  in  great 
astonishment  when  he  saw  Blake's  face  at  the 
window. 

"  Hal-lo  !  "  he  cried.  "  What  brought  you  back 
here  ?  " 

"It  is  a  long  story,"  answered  the  chairman. 
"  Will  you  let  us  come  in  and  talk  to  you  for  a 
few  minutes  ?  " 

Mr.  Colson  at  once  got  up  and  opened  the  door ; 
and  when  Blake  and  his  two  friends  walked  into 
the  office,  and  he  saw  what  a  condition  their  boots 
and  uniforms  were  in,  he  knew  that  something 
had  gone  wrong  with  them.  He  had  had  some 
slight  suspicion  before,  and  now  a  light  dawned 
upon  him  all  at  once,  and  he  understood  the  mat- 
ter as  well  as  he  did  after  it  was  explained  to  him. 

"  Blake,"  said  he,  as  he  locked  the  door  and 


A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN.       235 

pulled  down  the  window-shutter,  thus  making 
sure  of  an  uninterrupted  interview,  "you  have  lost 
your  dinner." 

"  We  are  painfully  aware  of  the  fact,  Mr.  Col- 
son,"  replied  the  chairman,  with  an  attempt  at 
pleasantry ;  "  and  we  should  be  much  obliged  to 
you  if  you  would  tell  us  how  it  happened." 

"  All  I  know  about  it  is  this,"  replied  the  gen- 
tleman, and  the  members  of  the  committee  were 
greatly  relieved  to  see  that  he  showed  not  the 
slightest  disposition  to  laugh  at  them.  "You 
will  remember  that  your  secretary  wrote  to  me, 
saying  that  the  class  was  satisfied  with  what  you 
three  did  the  last  time  you  were  down  here,  and 
that  if  you  thought  it  best  to  make  any  changes 
you  would  notify  me  by  a  committee,  and  not  by 
letter.  Well,  last  night  a  couple  of  young  fellows 
came  to  me  and  said  that  they  had  been  sent  to 
say  that  the  crowd  wouldn't  want  my  hall  to- 
night— that  for  class  reasons,  which  they  were 
obliged  to  keep  secret,  they  had  decided  to  eat  the 
dinner  in  Bordentown.  They  told  Taylor  the 
same  thing  about  the  dinner,  and  ordered  him  to 
pack  it  up  and  have  it  at  the  transfer-depot  by 
the  time  the  lightning-express  came  in." 


236  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  The  impudent  scoundrels  !  "  exclaimed  White, 
while  Forester  brought  his  clenched  fist  down 
into  his  open  palm  with  a  report  like  that  of  a 
pistol. 

"  If  they  were  not  authorized  to  act  for  your 
class  they  were  pretty  cheeky,  that's  a  fact,"  as- 
sented Mr.  Colson. 

"  They  were  authorized  to  act  for  nobody,"  said 
Forester,  hotly.  "  They're  a  lot  of  robbers.  They 
bamboozled  you  and  Mr.  Taylor  completely." 

"  I  know  they  did ;  but  you  can  readily  see  that 
Taylor  and  I  are  in  no  way  to  blame  for  that. 
We  are  not  acquainted  with  more  than  a  dozen 
boys  in  your  class,  and  although  we  thought  it 
rather  strange  that  you  should  suddenly  make  up 
your  minds  to  go  to  so  lonely  a  place  as  Borden- 
town  to  eat  your  dinner,  we  asked  no  questions, 
because  we  did  not  want  it  to  appear  that  we  were 
trying  to  pry  into  school-boy  secrets." 

"  Excuse  me  a  moment,"  said  Blake.  "  Was 
Endicott  one  of  the  boys  who  waited  on  you  and 
told  you  we  should  not  want  the  hall  ?  " 

"  Endicott !     No.     Is  he  mixed  up  in  it  ?  " 

Blake  replied  that  he  was,  and  with  another 
slight  apology  for  the  interruption  went  on  to  tell 


A    TREACHEROUS   COACHMAN.  237 

how  Sam  had  met  them  at  the  depot  that  morn- 
ing, carried  them  out  into  the  country  to  consult 
with  Mr.  Taylor,  who  was  so  ill  that  he  could  not 
appear  at  the  hall  that  evening,  and  left  them  in 
the  woods,  eight  miles  from  the  city.  It  was 
while  they  were  trying  to  find  their  way  out  that 
they  got  their  boots  muddy  and  their  coats  cov- 
ered with  burrs. 

As  Mr.  Colson  listened,  the  muscles  of  his  face 
gradually  relaxed,  and  when  Blake  wound  up  the 
story  of  his  adventures,  he  threw  back  his  head, 
pounded  his  knees  with  his  clenched  hands  and 
laughed  so  loudly  and  heartily  that  the  boys  were 
obliged  to  laugh,  too,  angry  as  they  were. 

"No,  I  didn't  see  Endicott,"  said  Mr.  Colson, 
as  soon  as  he  could  speak.  "  If  I  had,  I  should 
have  suspected  something  at  once ;  for  I  know 
him,  and  I  happen  to  know,  too,  that  he  doesn't 
graduate  this  year.  He  was  sharp  enough  to 
keep  out  of  my  sight,  and  to  send  two  boys  I 
never  saw  before.  Those  same  boys  came  around 
this  morning  and  got  the  flags,  which  I  had  fast- 
ened up  over  the  musicians'  stand,  and  when  that 
crowd  of  '  pirates/  as  you  call  them,  came  in  on 
the  lightning-express,  they  marched  through  the 


238  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

streets,  with  the  band  playing  and  colors  fly- 
ing " 

"  Has  the  band  gone  to  Bordentown,  too  ? " 
cried  Forester. 

"  Certainly.  Everything  was  done  up  as  slick 
as  you  please.  Just  before  they  left  the  city, 
their  advance  guard,  or  whatever  you  call  those 
fellows  who  did  the  business  for  them,  dropped 
about  a  bushel  of  notes  into  the  post-office,  all  ad- 
dressed to  your  guests,  no  doubt,  stating  that  the 
time  and  place  for  holding  the  banquet  had  been 
changed." 

"  Whoop  !  "  yelled  Forester,  who  being  utterly 
unable  to  sit  still  and  listen  to  this  cold-blooded 
description  of  the  way  in  which  his  class  had  been 
outwitted,  jumped  to  his  feet  and  stamped  about 
the  office,  shaking  his  fists  in  the  air,  and  acting 
altogether  as  if  he  had  suddenly  taken  leave  of  his 
senses. 

"Now  the  best  thing  you  can  do,"  continued 
Mr.  Colson,  "  is  to  telegraph  your  boys  to  stay  in 
Bridgeport.  They  will  only  make  themselves  a 
laughing-stock  if  they  come  here." 

"  I  wouldn't  do  that  for  any  money,"  exclaimed 
Blake,  earnestly. 


A  TREACHEROUS  COACHMAN.       239 

"  What  good  will  it  do  them  to  come  here  ?  " 
inquired  Mr.  Colson.  "  The  dinner  is  gone — there 
is  no  two  ways  about  that." 

"  That  remains  to  be  seen/'  answered  Blake. 
"  They've  got  a  pretty  sharp  fellow  at  their 
head " 

"I  should  say  so,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Colson. 
"  Who  is  he,  anyhow  ?  I  am  sorry  he  stole  your 
dinner,  but  I  must  say  I  admire  the  skill  he 
showed  in  doing  it." 

"  The  idea  originated  with  Lester  Brigham,  a 
Mississippi  boy,"  replied  Blake.  "He  is  the  same 
i'ellow  who  got  up  the  scheme  for  running  off  with 
Mr.  Packard's  schooner  last  term.  But  Enoch 
Williams  managed  that  expedition,  and  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  he  is  furnishing  the  brains  for 
this  one.  Now  let's  talk  business.  Do  you  sup- 
pose I  could  charter  a  locomotive  and  two  cars  at 
the  transfer-depot  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  want  to  do  with  them  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  after  that  dinner.  There  were  a 
score  or  more  of  academy  boys  visiting  here  in 
town  when  those  pirates  marched  through  the 
streets  with  our  band  and  our  flags,  and  I  don't 
see  why  they  didn't  do  something  about  it." 


240  THE    YOUXQ   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  What  in  the  world  could  they  have  done  ?  " 
asked  White.  "  They  could  not  have  stopped 
them  even  if  they  had  wanted  to,  and  they  had  no 
excuse  for  calling  upon  the  officers  of  the  law  for 
help.  Besides,  how  do  you  know  but  that  every 
one  of  the  twenty  boys  who  are  visiting  here  are 
not  in  sympathy  with  them  ?  Endicott  and  two 
other  boys  that  we  know  of  have  gone  to  Borden- 
town  with  Lester  and  his  crowd,  and  what  reason 
have  we  to  think  that  they  are  the  only  Hamilton 
boys  who  are  in  the  plot  ?  " 

Blake  began  to  look  sober  now.  These  words 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  he  had  set  him- 
self no  easy  task  when  he  resolved  to  capture  that 
dinner.  Still  the  attempt  must  be  made — that 
much  was  settled — and  if  it  failed,  what  could  the 
class  say  to  the  guests  who  had  come  so  far,  in  re- 
sponse to  their  invitation  ?  This  question  made 
him  so  nervous  and  excited  that  he  could  scarcely 
keep  his  seat. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

"  FALL    IN    FOB    DINNER  !  " 

""TTTHAT  will  the  superintendent  do  with 
those  boys  for  stealing  your  dinner  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  Colson,  after  a  little  pause. 

"  Nothing  much/'  replied  Forester,  in  a  tone  of 
disgust.  "They  will  simply  be  court-martialed 
for  stretching  their  passes,  and  that  will  be  the 
last  of  it.  They  have  broken  no  law,  and  con- 
sequently they  can't  be  touched  for  taking  our 
dinner.  If  there  is  a  sergeant  or  corporal  among 
them — a  shoulder-strap  wouldn't  have  anything 
to  do  with  such  a  crowd — he  will  be  hauled  over 
the  coals  for  conduct  unbecoming  a  gentleman 
and  an  officer  ;  but  they  can't  punish  him  beyond 
taking  some  of  his  credit-marks  away  from  him. 
But  what  were  you  going  to  say  about  that  loco- 
motive, Blake  ?  " 

"I  propose,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  hire  a 
11 


242  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

carriage  apiece,  and  ride  around  the  city  and  see 
how  many  of  our  boys  we  can  get  together  ;  and  if 
we  can  raise  force  enough  to  warrant  it,  we  will 
charter  a  couple  of  cars  and  go  down  to  Borden- 
town  after  our  dinner." 

"And  you  will  get  it,  too,"  said  Mr.  Colson, 
who  could  not  have  taken  more  interest  in  the 
matter  if  he  had  been  a  boy  himself.  "I  will 
help  you  all  I  can,  and  as  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  the  president  of  the  Bordentown  Branch, 
perhaps  my  influence  will  be  of  some  use  to  you. 
I  am  glad  I  did  not  strip  the  hall.  Something 
told  me  that  I  had  better  let  it  alone  for  a  day  or 
two." 

The  boys  lingered  in  the  office  long  enough  to 
make  a  little  improvement  in  their  personal  ap- 
pearance, which  they  accomplished  by  a  liberal 
use  of  Mr.  Colson's  blacking,  and  by  picking  the 
burrs  off  their  coats.  Then  they  hastened  to  the 
nearest  livery  stable  to  secure  carriages  and 
drivers,  while  Mr.  Colson  bent  his  steps  toward 
the  transfer  depot,  where  he  found  an  engine  but 
no  passenger  cars.  There  were  flats  in  abun- 
dance, however,  and  the  superintendent  said  the 
boys  might  have  a  couple  of  them  for  nothing  if 


"FALL  IN  FOR  DINNER!''  243 

they  would  bring  the  dinner  back  with  them.  In 
that  case  he  would  charge  them  for  the  use  of  the 
engine  only ;  but  if  the  "  pirates  "  beat  them  off 
and  held  fast  to  the  dinner  (both  he  and  Mr.  Col- 
son  seemed  to  think  that  there  would  surely  be 
the  biggest  kind  of  a  fight  in  Bordentown),  he 
would  make  no  deduction  whatever. 

The  president  was  a  dignified  old  gentleman, 
but  he  had  not  forgotten  that  he  was  a  boy  once, 
and  he  even  said  that  he  wished  he  could  see  his 
way  clearly  toward  offering  assistance  to  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  dinner ;  but  when  he  saw 
the  company  of  students  which  Blake  and  his  two 
companions,  with  such  help  as  their  drivers  had 
been  able  to  render  them,  had  brought  together  in 
an  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  he  knew  it 
wasn't  necessary.  There  were  eighteen  of  them — 
all  mischievous,  fun-loving  boys,  who  were  ripe 
for  a  frolic  of  any  kind,  so  long  as  they  had  the 
law  on  their  side.  They  were  all  overwhelmed 
with  amazement  at  the  skill  and  secrecy  with 
which  Lester  and  his  party  had  carried  out  their 
designs,  and  at  the  exceeding  coolness  and  impu- 
dence they  had  exhibited  in  marching  through  the 
streets  of  Hamilton  to  the  music  of  a  band  that 


244:  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

had  been  engaged  by  somebody  else,  and  for  an 
altogether  different  purpose.  A  few  of  them  were 
as  angry  as  they  would  have  been  if  the  trick  had 
been  played  upon  the  members  of  their  own  class  ; 
but  the  majority  looked  upon  it  as  a  huge  joke, 
and  laughed  heartily  over  it  to  the  intense  disgust 
of  Corporal  Forester,  who  was  sorely  tempted  to 
fight  some  of  them.  But  they  never  hesitated  a 
moment  when  Blake  told  them  that  he  wanted 
their  assistance.  They  went  with  him  willingly, 
and  if  a  fight  had  been  forced  upon  them,  they 
would  have  struggled  as  desperately  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  dinner,  as  the  first-class  boys  them- 
selves. They  had  all  heard  the  music  of  the  band 
in  the  morning,  but  did  not  take  the  trouble  to 
inquire  the  reason  for  it ;  consequently  they  knew 
nothing  of  the  trick  that  had  been  played  upon 
the  graduating  class  until  Blake  and  his  commit- 
tee waited  upon  them  at  their  homes  and  told 
them  of  it.  They  fully  concurred  in  Blake's 
opinion — that  although  Lester  Brigham  was  at 
the  bottom  of  it,  Enoch  Williams  was  furnishing 
the  brains. 

Their   train   being   in  readiness,  the   students 
sprang   aboard   the   cars,  and   Blake   waved   his 


"FALL  IN  FOR  DINNER!"  245 

hand  to  the  engineer  as  the  signal  to  go  ahead. 
The  latter  had  been  told  that  haste  was  not  only 
desirable  but  necessary,  and  he  "opened  wide 
out "  almost  at  the  start.  The  boys  had  never 
ridden  on  flat  cars  before,  and  they  were  not  long 
in  finding  out  that  it  was  a  most  disagreeable 
mode  of  traveling.  The  road  was  rough,  the  cars 
swayed  from  side  to  side  in  the  most  alarming 
manner,  and  as  there  was  nothing  to  which  they 
could  hold  fast,  they  Were  in  imminent  danger  of 
being  thrown  off;  but  they  gave  no  heed  to  that. 
They  clung  to  one  another  for  mutual  support, 
and  shouted  and  sang  at  the  top  of  their  voices — 
all,  except  Blake  and  his  committee,  who  were  in 
no  humor  for  nonsense.  They  couldn't  forget  how 
much  they  had  at  stake. 

The  twenty-four  miles  that  lay  between  Hamil- 
ton and  Bordentown  were  accomplished  in  almost 
as  many  minutes,  and  when  they  reached  a  point 
from  which  they  could  take  a  survey  of  the  prin- 
cipal street,  they  were  not  a  little  chagrined  to 
see  that  there  were  a  good  many  men  wearing 
red  shirts  and  firemen's  hats,  strolling  about  in 
company  with  fellows  in  gray  overcoats,  and 
fatigue  caps  of  the  same  color.  This  made  it 


246  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

evident  that  Lester  and  his  followers  had  been 
tendered  a  reception  on  their  arrival  at  the 
village. 

"  We'll  give  them  another,"  exclaimed  Forester, 
"  and  it  will  be  one  they  will  remember  as  long  as 
they  live." 

"  You  will  have  to  catch  them  first/'  observed  a 
tall  student,  who  stood  behind  Blake,  and  who, 
like  a  good  many  of  the  others,  had  put  himself  in 
fighting  trim  by  pulling  off  his  overcoat.  "  Just 
see  them  run,  will  you  ! " 

Blake  and  his  committee  were  surprised  as  well 
as  amused  at  the  magical  manner  in  which  the 
gray-coats  disappeared  when  the  wearers  caught 
sight  of  their  train.  They  scattered  in  every 
direction,  and  the  engineer,  appreciating  the 
situation,  gave  a  loud  blast  on  his  whistle  to  taunt 
them  with  their  cowardice.  The  firemen  and  the 
members  of  the  band,  believing  that  the  new- 
comers were  first-class  boys  who  had  accidentally 
missed  the  regular  train,  came  out  on  the 
platform  to  meet  them,  the  tall  band-master 
and  his  big  bearskin  cap  leading  the  way. 
The  chairman  of  the  committee  was  the  only 
student  in  the  party  with  whom  he  was  ac- 


"  FALL    IN    FOR    DINNER  !  "  247 

quainted,  and  him  he  greeted  with  great  effu- 
sion. 

"  Vel,  Meester  Plake,"  said  he,  in  the  pompous 
tone  which  a  conceited  and  well-to-do  German 
knows  how  to  use  better  than  anybody  else,  "I 
peen  glad  to  see  you.  I  did  think  you  would  be 
too  late  for  the  tinner." 

"Mr.  Bambreen,"  replied  Blake,  "you  and 
your  men  have  been  imposed  upon.  Did  your 
company  give  escort  to  the  students  who  came  in 
a  little  while  ago  ?  "  he  added,  turning  to  one  of 
the  firemen. 

"We  did,"  answered  the  latter.  "We  heard 
they  were  coming,  and  thought  it  would  be  polite 
to  show  them  a  little  respect." 

"  You  were  very  kind,  I  am  sure,  but  the 
trouble  is,  you  showed  respect  to  the  wrong 
fellows.  They  are  frauds,  the  whole  of  them. 
They  have  no  right  to  that  dinner.  It's  ours,  and 
we  have  come  after  it." 

"  And  won't  there  be  any  dance  to-night  ?  " 
exclaimed  the  fireman.  He  didn't  quite  under- 
stand what  Blake  said  about  the  dinner,  but  he 
saw  that  he  and  his  company  had  been  duped  in 
some  way,  and  he  was  all  ready  to  get  mad  about  it. 


248  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  There  will  be  no  dance  here,"  answered  the 
chairman,  "  but  there  will  be  one  in  Hamilton. 
We  are  going  right  back,  and  as  this  band  belongs 
to  us,  we  shall  take  it  with  us." 

"  And  did  those  soldiers  invite  us  to  the  table, 
and  tell  us  to  go  out  and  get  our  girls,  knowing 
all  the  while  that  they  had  no  right  to  do  it  ?  " 
demanded  the  fireman. 

Blake  and  his  friends  were  greatly  amazed. 
They  had  never  dreamed  that  the  conspirators 
would  have  the  hardihood  to  do  anything  like 
this.  Blake  began  to  tremble  for  their  safety. 
The  fireman  was  indignant,  so  were  his  compan- 
ions, a  dozen  of  whom  had  gathered  around,  and 
the  band-master  was  angry  clear  to  the  top  of  his 
bearskin  cap,  which  seemed  to  bristle  all  over 
with  rage.  He  wanted  to  say  something,  and  as 
he  could  not  do  the  subject  justice  in  English,  he 
broke  out  into  a  volley  of  Grerman  ejaculations 
that  could  have  been  heard  a  block  away.  He 
addressed  his  remarks  to  his  men,  who  replied  in 
the  same  language,  and  Blake  understood  just 
enough  of  what  they  said  to  satisfy  him  that 
instead  of  forcing  a  fight  upon  the  conspirators, 
as  Forester  had  time  and  again  urged  him  to  do, 


"  FALL  IN   FOB   DINNER  !  "  249 

it  would  be  his  duty  to  protect  them  from  vio- 
lence. 

"  Where  are  those  cadets  now  ?  "  he  asked  of 
the  fireman. 

"  Over  at  the  hotel,  fixing  up  the  dining-room," 
was  the  reply.  "  Boys,"  he  added,  turning  to  the 
red-shirted  fellows  who  stood  behind  him,  "let's 
go  over  there  and  pitch  the  last  one  of  them 
through  the  windows." 

With  one  accord  the  crowd,  which  by  this  time 
numbered  full  sixty  men  and  boys,  started  through 
the  depot  and  crossed  the  street  in  the  direction 
of  the  hotel.  A  wink  and  a  nod  from  Blake  were 
enough  to  tell  his  companions  what  he  desired 
them  to  do.  By  fast  walking  they  gradually  drew 
ahead  of  the  crowd,  and  reaching  the  hotel  first, 
they  rushed  into  the  doorway  and  purposely  stuck 
fast  there,  blocking  it  up  so  effectually  that  the 
angry  firemen  and  musicians  behind  them  could 
not  get  in.  Blake  kept  on  to  the  door  of  the 
dining-room,  and  there  he  found  Mr.  Taylor  and 
his  assistants,  who  were  just  closing  the  windows, 
after  making  a  vain  effort  to  capture  Enoch 
Williams  and  those  of  his  party  who  were  in  the 
room  when  the  whistle  sounded.  Fortunately  the 


250  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

boys  had  been  too  quick  to  be  caught.  They 
were  now  safe  out  of  harm's  way,  and  Blake  was 
glad  of  it.  So  was  Mr.  Taylor,  when  he  saw  the 
flushed  faces  and  angiy  scowls  of  the  men,  who 
finally  succeeded  in  forcing  their  way  into  the 
room. 

"  I  know  who  you  three  fellows  are,"  said  Mr. 
Taylor,  nodding  to  Blake  and  his  committee. 
"  You  are  the  boys  who  ordered  the  dinner.  You 
need  not  waste  time  in  explaining  the  situation, 
for  I  understand  it  perfectly.  I  wondered  why  1 
did  not  see  you  among  the  students  ;  but  I  thought 
it  very  likely  that  you  had  been  breaking  some  of 
the  rules  and  been  kept  in." 

"  The  members  of  the  first  class  are  never  gated 
on  occasions  like  this,"  said  Forester. 

"  Well,  I  didn't  know  that,"  replied  Mr.  Taylor. 
"  The  whole  thing  was  done  so  openly  and  above- 
board,  that  any  living  man  would  have  been  fooled. 
I  wonder  if  Colson  was  taken  in." 

"  Yes,  he  was,"  answered  Blake  ;  and  he  thought 
Mr.  Taylor  looked  as  though  he  was  glad  to  hear 
it.  "Boys,  some  of  you  take  our  colors  down 
from  the  wall,  and  the  rest  pitch  in  and  help  pack 
up  the  dinner.  Forester,  you  and  I  will  hunt  up 


"  FALL    IN    FOR    DINNER  !  "  251 

the  landlord,  and  ask  him  what  his  bill  is.  Lester 
and  his  friends  will  find  themselves  short  of  pocket- 
money  during  the  rest  of  the  term,  for  the  court- 
martial  will  compel  them  to  pay  roundly  for  all 
the  trouble  they  have  occasioned." 

"  Then  they'll  pay  me  a  good  sum,  I  tell  you," 
said  Mr.  Taylor.  "  They  have  put  me  to  a  heap 
of  bother,  and  the  dinner  won't  look  half  as  nice 
after  a  forty-eight  mile  ride  over  a  rough  railroad 
as  it  would  if  I  could  have  taken  it  from  my 
restaurant  directly  to  the  hall." 

Blake  and  Forester  found  that  the  landlord  was 
inclined  to  be  as  angry  as  the  firemen  and  musi- 
cians were.  He  didn't  like  to  have  anybody  make 
a  fool  of  his  house,  he  said,  and  he  had  a  good 
notion  to  have  'em  all  took  up. 

'•'That  young  Endicott  has  been  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  !  "  he  almost  shouted.  "  He  came 
here  last  night  and  engaged  my  dining-room  for 
this  evening,  and  now  he  has  run  away  -without 
paying  his  bill.  That's  agin  the  law.  The  others 
were  knowing  to  it,  and  for  two  cents  I'd  have  the 
last  one  of  'em  arrested." 

It  was  not  without  considerable  difficulty  that 
Blake  succeeded  in  pacifying  him' ;  but  with  all 


252  THE   YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

his  urging,  he  could  not  induce  him  to  deduct  one 
cent  from  the  enormous  bill  he  made  out  to  be 
handed  to  the  superintendent  of  the  academy. 
He  wanted  full  pay  for  the  dining-room,  just  as 
much,  in  fact,  as  if  it  had  been  used  all  night,  as 
he  thought  it  was  going  to  be,  and  nothing  short 
of  that  would  satisfy  him.  It  was  equally  hard 
to  quiet  the  musicians  and  some  of  the  firemen, 
whose  rage,  when  they  discovered  that  the  con- 
spirators had  slipped  through  their  fingers  like  so 
many  eels,  was  almost  unbounded.  Even  the 
jolly,  good-natured  foreman,  who  had  been  home 
to  tell  his  wife  and  daughter  to  get  ready  for  a 
grand  time  during  the  evening,  declared  with 
some  earnestness  that  he  didn't  approve  of  the 
way  he  had  been  treated.  His  men  would  be 
laughed  at  and  "  guyed "  for  months  to  come, 
because  they  had  turned  out  to  do  honor  to  those 
who  were  not  entitled  to  receive  it ;  and  what 
should  the  young  fellows  in  the  company  say  to 
the  girls  they  had  engaged  for  the  dance  ?  It  was 
a  mean  trick,  that  was  the  long  and  short  of  it  ; 
and  if  that  bogus  captain  knew  when  he  was 
well  off,  he  would  steer  clear  of  Bordentown  in 
future. 


"  FALL   IN   FOR   DINNER  !  "  253 

At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  the  dinner  had  been 
carefully  repacked  and  placed  aboard  one  of  the 
flats,  the  boys  and  the  band  crowded  upon  the 
other,  and  the  engineer  "opened  out"  for  a  rapid 
homeward  run,  Blake  and  his  committee  riding  in 
the  cab.  They  were  so  delighted  over  their  suc- 
cess that  they  could  scarcely  restrain  themselves. 
They  had  gone  to  work  without  any  threats  or 
bluster,  but  they  had  saved  their  class  from  dis- 
grace, the  dinner  would  go  off  just  as  they  had 
planned  it,  and  their  guests  need  not  know  what 
a  time  they  had  had  with  it. 

"Look  here,  fellows,"  said  Blake,  when  the 
train  was  fairly  under  way,  "  I  am  going  to  sug- 
gest to  the  class  that  these  eighteen  friends  of 
ours,  who  were  so  prompt  to  respond  to  our 
appeals  for  help,  be  invited  to  fall  in  and  spend 
the  evening  with  us  at  Clarendon  Hall ;  what  do 
you  say  ?  " 

"  I  say  it  would  be  nothing  more  than  right," 
replied  Forester.  "It  is  true,  we  did  not  need 
their  services,  but  we  thought  we  were  going  to 
when  we  started,  and  the  class  will  be  so  glad  to 
get  the  dinner  back,  and  they  will  agree  to  any- 
thing we  may  propose  " 


254  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  They're  in  Hamilton  by  this  time,"  said 
White,  glancing  at  his  watch.  "  I'd  like  to  have 
seen  their  faces  when  they  first  discovered  that 
the  band  was  not  there  to  welcome  them.  Pipe 
up,  Meester  Bambreen,"  he  shouted  across  the 
tender  to  the  band-master.  "  Give  us  something 
lively  and  triumphant — something  appropriate  to 
the  occasion,  you  understand  ?  " 

The  train  was  now  within  sight  of  the  depot, 
and  Colonel  Mack  and  President  Clark  were 
watching  it,  as  we  have  recorded.  The  band 
struck  up  "something  appropriate,"  the  colors 
were  given  to  the  breeze,  and  in  this  way  the  good 
news  which  the  committee  was  so  impatient  to 
communicate,  was  conveyed  to  their  friends  far 
in  advance  of  them.  They  were  rather  surprised 
at  the  ovation  they  received  when  their  train 
moved  into  the  depot,  but  they  could  not  linger 
to  ask  questions  about  it.  Time  was  too  precious 
for  that. 

"Can't  stop  to  do  it  now — story's  too  long," 
said  Blake,  in  answer  to  Colonel  Mack's  demand 
for  an  explanation.  "  But  this  much  I  can  say 
to  you  :  We've  not  a  single  instant  to  lose  ;  but  if 
we  work  fast  and  don't  get  in  one  another's  way, 


"  FALL    IN    FOB    DINNER  !  "  255 

we  can  make  the  dinner  go  off  as  if  nothing  had 
happened." 

As  the  omnibus  and  express  wagon  were  driven 
off  with  the  band,  he  drew  Mack  and  Clark  off 
on  one  side,  and  said,  waving  his  hand  toward  the 
students,  who  were  assisting  Mr.  Taylor  in  remov- 
ing the  dinner  from  the  flat  car : 

"You  see  those  fellows?  There  are  eighteen 
of  them,  they  went  with  us  fully  expecting  to 
join  us  in  a  fight  with  Lester  and  his  crowd,  and 
I  say  that  the  class  ought  to  do  something  to 
show  them  that  their  kindness  is  appreciated. 
Colonel,  suppose  you  march  them  down  to  the 
depot  and  bring  them  up  to  the  hall  with  the 
company." 

"  I'll  do  it,"  said  Mack,  promptly.  "  It  will  be 
a  big  innovation,  but  I  don't  see  how  the  boys  can 
object  to  it  under  the  circumstances.  Here,  you 
fellows  ;  fall  in  !  Don't  stop  to  ask  any  questions, 
but  fall  in.  Forward,  march  !  " 

The  boys  obeyed,  lost  in  wonder,  and  Colonel 
Mack  marched  them  at  quick  time  toward  the 
depot.  They  found  the  company  gathered  about 
the  band-master,  who  was  haranguing  them  in 
his  broken  English,  emphasizing  his  remarks  by 


256  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

flourishing  his  staff  so  furiously  that  it  fairly 
whistled  as  it  cut  the  air.  He  was  telling  how 
neatly  Meester  Plake  had  turned  the  tables  on 
the  conspirators,  and  trying  to  make  the  students 
understand  how  mad  he  was  hecause  he  did  not 
get  a  chance  to  take  dot  Veelliams  by  the  collar 
for  just  one  little  minute.  In  the  midst  of  it  all, 
Mack  marched  in  with  his  squad,  who  were  greeted 
with  cheers  long  and  loud.  The  members  of  the 
company  gathered  about  them,  shaking  their 
hands  and  patting  their  heads,  and,  when  Captain 
Walker  told  them  to  fall  in  with  the  rest,  there 
was  not  so  much  as  a  dissenting  look  seen. 

The  boys  had  by  this  time  become  aware  that 
the  events  of  the  day  were  pretty  well  known  in 
the  city,  but  they  were  not  prepared  for  the  greet- 
ing that  was  extended  to  them  all  along  their  line 
of  march  from  the  depot  to  Clarendon  Hall.  It 
was  almost  as  enthusiastic  as  the  welcome  Mack 
and  his  men  received  in  Bridgeport  after  their 
battle  with  the  mob  at  Hamilton  Creek.  They 
were  loudly  cheered,  and  now  and  then  some  one 
would  run  out  into  the  street  with  a  bouquet  in 
his  hand  and  make  hurried  inquiries  for  Blake, 
who  had  remained  behind  to  assist  Mr.  Taylor ; 


"  FALL    IN    FOB   DINNER  !  "  257 

but  he  had  plenty  of  friends  who  were  willing  to 
act  as  his  representatives,  and  by  the  time  they 
reached  the  reception  room  adjoining  the  hall, 
they  were  almost  loaded  down  with  flowers. 

All  the  exciting  incidents  connected  with  this 
particular  class-dinner  were  over  at  last,  and  it 
only  remains  for  us  to  say  nothing  happened 
during  the  evening  to  mar  their  enjoyment,  and 
that  when  they  took  the  early  train  for  Bridge- 
port, the  students  felt  that  they  had  done  them- 
selves credit.  Blake  was  the  hero,  as  he  deserved 
to  be,  and  he  and  his  committee,  as  well  as  the 
boys  who  had  gone  down  to  Bordentown  with 
them,  were  "toasted,"  the  tall  student  who  had 
been  so  prompt  to  put  himself  in  fighting  trim, 
responding  in  a  speech  that  set  the  tables  in  a  roar. 
Everybody  wondered  what  had  become  of  Lester 
and  his  party,  and  how  they  were  going  to  get 
back  to  the  academy ;  but  still  they  did  not  feel 
alarmed  for  their  safety,  for  if  they  exhibited  the 
same  skill  in  eluding  the  firemen  that  they  did  in 
getting  away  with  the  dinner,  they  were  sure  to 
come  off  scot  free.  And  they  did,  every  one  of 
them,  although  a  few  had  some  very  narrow 
escapes.  They  succeeded  in  boarding  a  freight 


258  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

train  which  stopped  at  a  water-tank  about  two 
miles  above  Bordentown,  and  arrived  at  Hamilton 
in  time  to  take  the  two  o'clock  train  for  Bridge- 
port. When  the  first-class  boys  got  there,  they 
were  all  in  their  rooms  under  arrest,  but  sleeping 
soundly  after  the  fatigue  and  excitement  of  the 
day.  Their  exploit  was  a  nine  days'  wonder,  and 
there  were  those  who  were  sorry  that  they  did  not 
eat  the  dinner  after  they  had  put  themselves  to 
so  much  trouble  to  get  it.  Lester  Brigham  got 
into  a  quarrel  with  Wallace  Ross  the  minute  he 
entered  his  room.  Boss  accused  him  of  treachery, 
and  threatened  to  go  before  the  court-martial  and 
tell  all  he  knew. 

"  Go  ahead,  if  you  think  you  can  make  anything 
by  it,"  said  Lester,  as  he  tumbled  into  bed.  "  But 
if  you  know  when  you  are  well  off,  you  will  keep  a 
still  tongue  in  your  head.  No  one  outside  the 
crowd  knows  that  you  had  anything  to  do  with  it, 
and  they  never  will  know  it  either,  unless  you 
choose  to  tell  it.  But  I  did  hear  that  the  train 
was  behind  time.  If  you  don't  believe  it,  ask 
Enoch." 

The  court-martial  did  just  what  Forester  said 
it  would  do.  The  judge-advocate  could  not  make 


"  FALL    IN    FOR   DINNER  !  "  259 

the  law  cover  the  case,  and  all  he  could  do  was  to 
prosecute  the  conspirators  for  stretching  their 
passes — that  is,  for  going  to  Hamilton  and  Bor- 
dentown  when  they  ought  not  to  have  gone  any 
farther  than  the  village.  Lester  and  Enoch  re- 
ceived the  heaviest  sentences,  losing  all  their  credit 
marks  and  being  gated  for  sixty  days ;  but  they 
did  not  seem  to  mind  it  very  much,  for  were  they 
not  looked  up  to  as  the  originator  and  manager  of 
two  of  the  most  daring  conspiracies  that  had  ever 
been  concocted  within  the  walls  of  that  academy  ? 
It  had  the  effect  of  putting  the  students  on  the 
alert,  and  from  that  time  forward  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  anybody  to  interfere  with  a 
class  dinner. 

After  the  court-martial  adjourned  nothing  hap- 
pened to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  academy 
routine.  The  first-class  boys  felt  so  very  bitter 
against  Lester  and  Enoch  that  they  would  not 
speak  to  them  except  when  they  were  on  duty  and 
could  not  help  it  (they  knew  that  they  gave  the 
former  more  credit  than  he  deserved),  but  they 
were  much  too  honorable  to  take  revenge  upon 
them,  as  they  could  have  done  had  they  been  so 
disposed.  On  the  contrary,  Colonel  Mack,  for 


260  THE   YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

fear  of  being  considered  vindictive,  more  than 
once  overlooked  offenses  which  he  ought  to  have 
reported,  and  the  teachers  knew  it  and  took  him 
sharply  to  task  for  his  neglect.  This  won  him 
the  good  will  of  all  except  the  very  meanest  of 
Lester's  followers,  who  would  have  reported  him 
in  a  moment  if  they  had  had  the  chance  to  do  it. 

That  was  a  long  term  to  some  of  the  students, 
but  the  end  came  in  due  time,  the  encampment 
was  over,  the  visitors  had  gone  to  their  homes, 
and  the  much-dreaded  examination  was  a  thing  of 
the  past.  The  result  was  what  everybody  thought 
it  would  be,  so  far  as  two  boys  were  concerned. 
When  Colonel  Mack  took  off  his  shoulder-straps 
Don  Gordon  put  them  on,  and  Bert  was  promoted 
to  a  captaincy.  Enoch,  Lester,  and  Jones  did  not 
get  even  a  corporal's  chevrons,  arid  although  they 
could  blame  no  one  but  themselves  for  it,  they 
had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  favoritism,  and  Les- 
ter hated  Don  Gordon  more  cordially  than  ever. 

"  I  don't  suppose  that  he  and  Bert  will  speak 
to  anybody  now  who  is  lower  in  the  social  scale 
than  a  Congressman,"  said  Lester,  in  a  tone  of 
contempt.  "  I  wish  I  could  think  up  some  way 
to  get  those  straps  off  their  shoulders." 


"  FALL    IN    FOR    DINNER  !  "  261 

"  Well,  you  can't,"  replied  Enoch.  "  Don  is  so 
f;ir  above  you  in  rank  that  you  can't  hurt  him ; 
but  we  can  see  to  it  that  he  and  Bert  don't  get 
any  sport  while  they  are  down  on  the  Chesapeake, 
and  we  will,  too.  We  can  do  just  as  much  damage 
as  we  please,  and  it  will  all  be  laid  to  the  big-gun- 
ners, who  don't  like  Egan  any  better  than  I  do. 
He  informed  on  some  of  them,  and  got  them  into 
trouble  with  the  detectives.  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  two  or  three  of  those  poachers,  and  I  wouldn't 
have  them  get  down  on  me  for  any  money." 

Don  and  Bert  had  looked  forward  to  this  vaca- 
tion with  many  anticipations  of  pleasure.  They 
had  never  seen  salt  water,  and  everything  in 
Maryland  would  possess  for  them  the  same  charm 
of  novelty  as  the  sights  they  saw  in  Maine  and  the 
sports  they  enjoyed  while  they  were  visiting  there. 
In  order  that  they  might  see  all  the  pleasure  there 
was  in  shooting  canvas-backs,  General  Gordon, 
who  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  progress  they 
had  made  during  the  term,  had  presented  each  of 
the  boys  with  a  breech-loading  duck-gun,  full 
choked,  and  warranted  to  kill  at  seventy -five 
yards.  All  the  students  who  knew  anything  about 
guns,  said  they  were  beauties,  and  although  Bert 


262  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

looked  rather  small  for  so  heavy  a  weapon,  his 
gymnastic  training  enabled  him  to  handle  it  with 
all  ease. 

The  examination  over  and  the  result  announced, 
Egan,  Hopkins,  Curtis  and  all  the  other  boys 
who  had  taken  the  finishing  course,  bade  a  long 
farewell  to  their  alma  mater.  Never  again  would 
they  enter  its  hallowed  precincts  as  pupils.  Their 
career  as  students  was  over,  and  they  were  about 
to  go  out  into  the  world  to  begin  the  battle  of 
life.  There  were  few  dry  eyes  among  them  when 
the  parting  time  came,  and  there  was  not  one  of 
them  who  did  not  wish,  with  his  whole  soul,  that 
he  had  worked  harder  to  make  his  record  such  as 
he  knew  the  superintendent  would  have  desired  it 
to  be.  The  latter,  although  a  strict  disciplina- 
rian, was  a  big-hearted  man,  who  took  the  deepest 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  all  his  pupils,  and  the 
words  of  advice  he  uttered  as  he  shook  their 
hands  for  the  last  time,  were  full  of  wisdom. 

The  first  southward  bound  train  that  left 
Bridgeport  took  our  five  friends  with  it.  Their 
destination  was  Hillsboro',  a  little  town  in  Garrett 
county,  in  the  extreme  western  end  of  Maryland, 
next  to  West  Virginia.  It  was  here  that  Hopkins 


"  FALL    IN    FOR    DINNER  !  "  203 

lived,  in  a  country  famed  for  its  game,  and  for 
the  number  and  fighting  qualities  of  its  trout. 
Curtis  had  an  idea  that  trout  did  not  amount  to 
much  outside  of  Maine ;  but  after  he  had  broken 
his  fine  lance-wood  rod  in  a  battle  with  a  Black- 
water  fish,  he  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  his 
error. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kailroad  took  them  to 
Hillsboro'  without  any  mishap,  and  there  they 
passed  a  portion  of  their  vacation  in  the  most 
agreeable  manner.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  a  fat,  jolly 
old  gentleman,  a  thorough-going  fox-hunter  in 
spite  of  his  years,  and  when  the  boys  had  seen 
him  ride  to  the  hounds,  and  noted  the  ease  with 
which  he  took  all  the  fences  and  brush-heaps  that 
came  in  his  way,  they  ceased  to  wonder  where 
their  fat  crony  got  his  skill  in  horsemanship.  He 
would  have  been  glad  to  keep  the  visitors  there 
forever,  for  he  took  a  great  liking  to  them  ;  bujb 
their  time  was  short,  their  friend  Egan  had  a 
claim  upon  them,  and  after  a  few  weeks  of  good, 
solid  enjoyment,  which  they  fully  appreciated, 
coming  as  it  did  on  the  heels  of  a  long  siege  of 
study  and  drill,  they  bade  the  old  fox-hunter 
good-by,  and  set  out  for  the  Eastern  Shore. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   BIG-GUNNER'S   CABIN. 

~TTT~E  have  told  in  the  first  chapter  that  Egan's 
guests  were  most  cordially  received  by 
his  father  and  mother ;  that  during  the  very  first 
night  they  spent  at  his  home  they  heard  the 
report  of  one  of  the  big  guns  which  used  to  make 
such  havoc  among  the  water-fowl  ;  that  the  next 
morning  they  found  the  owner  of  it  in  a  sink-boat 
on  the  bay,  and  that  he  threatened  to  do  some- 
thing to  Egan  if  the  boy  frightened  away  any 
more  ducks  for  him.  We  have  also  described 
how  Egan  and  his  visitors,  after  trying  in  vain  to 
"toll"  a  flock  of  canvas-backs  within  range  of 
their  double-barrels  by  the  aid  of  old  Eph's  yellow 
dog  Bogus,  accidentally  stumbled  upon  one  of  the 
big  guns  which  was  hidden  in  the  grass  on  the 
shore  of  Powell's  Island.  Enoch,  Lester  and 
Jones,  who  were  sailing  about  in  the  Firefly,  and 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S  CABIN.  265 

who  had  set  themselves  the  task  of  watching  the 
movements  of  Egan  and  his  party,  saw  them  when 
they  raised  the  gun  from  its  place  of  concealment, 
and  they  were  present,  too,  when  the  police-boat 
came  up  and  took  possession  of  it.  They  went 
back  and  told  the  man  in  the  sink-boat  what  had 
happened,  and  after  hearing  him  swear,  and  ex- 
torting from  him  a  sort  of  half  promise  that  they 
should  be  permitted  to  accompany  him  the  next 
time  he  made  a  night  raid  upon  a  flock  of  ducks, 
they  kept  on  to  Enoch's  home.  They  roamed 
about  the  fields  with  their  guns  in  their  hands 
until  a  furious  storm  arose  and  drove  them  into 
the  house  ;  and  when  darkness  came  to  conceal 
their  movements,  they  were  ready  to  carry  into 
effect  the  resolution  they  had  long  ago  formed — 
that  Egan  and  his  guests  should  not  see  any  sport 
on  the  bay  if  they  could  help  it.  They  decided 
that  the  first  thing  on  the  programme  should  be 
to  deprive  him  of  his  yacht,  a  beautiful  little  craft 
which  held  a  high  place  in  Egan's  estimation, 
and.  this  they  hoped  to  accomplish  with  the  aid 
of  the  elements.  They  would  turn  her  adrift,  and 
let  the  wind  and  the  waves  make  a  wreck  of  her. 

They  succeeded  in  boarding  the  yacht,  but  the 
12 


266  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

negro  guard  who  slept  on  Mr.  Egan's  oyster-boat, 
which  was  anchored  close  by,  was  on  the  alert, 
and  the  roar  of  his  old  musket,  the  savage  yelps 
and  growls  of  his  canine  companions,  and  the 
whistle  of  the  bullet  which  he  sent  altogether  too 
close  to  Enoch's  head  for  comfort,  were  enough  to 
frighten  them  out  of  a  year's  growth.  Enoch, 
who  was  in  the  act  of  slipping  the  chain  when 
this  unexpected  interruption  occurred,  tumbled 
into  the  boat  that  lay  alongside  the  cutter, 
caught  up  an  oar,  and  he  and  his  two  friends 
pulled  away  for  dear  life.  When  the  little  vessel 
had  been  left  out  of  sight  in  the  darkness, 
he  drew  in  his  oar,  took  off  his  hat  and  wiped 
the  big  drops  of  perspiration  from  his  fore- 
head. 

"  By  gracious  !  "  panted  Enoch.  "  That  was  a 
narrow  escape,  I  tell  you.  I  never  dreamed  that 
Egan  kept  a  guard  on  his  boats.  He  doesn't 
mean  to  let  the  big-gunners  steal  a  march  on  him, 
does  he  ?  I  must  post  Burr  so  that  he  will  look 
out  for  himself." 

"  Who  was  the  guard  ?  "  asked  Lester,  who  was 
almost  as  frightened  now  as  he  was  on  the  night 
the  bugle  sounded  the  false  alarm. 


THE    BIG-GUNNER'S    CABIN.  267 

"  Oh,  he  was  one  of  Egan's  niggers/'  replied 
Enoch. 

"  Do  you  think  he  recognized  us  ?  " 

"Of  course  not.  It  is  too  dark  to  recognize 
anybody  at  that  distance.  If  he  knew  who  it  was 
that  tried  to  slip  that  chain,  the  country  about 
here  would  be  made  too  hot  to  hold  us.  Hark  ! 
Didn't  you  hear  something  ?  " 

The  boys  listened  intently,  and  a  few  seconds 
later  the  stentorian  tones  of  Gus  Egan's  voice 
were  plainly  audible  above  the  roaring  of  the  wind 
and  the  swashing  of  the  white-caps.  He  was 
calling  out  the  name  of  his  father's  oyster- 
boat. 

"  On  board  the  Bob  Hoy  ! "  he  shouted. 

"  Yi,  yi,  sah  ! "  replied  the  ebony  guard. 

"  What  were  you  shooting  at  ?  "  demanded 
Egan. 

"  Dunno  who  his  name  was,  but  spect  he  was 
one  of  dem  big-gunners  who  cussed  so  to-day  kase 
you  uns  skeered  away  his  ducks,"  answered  the 
negro.  "  Didn't  hit  him,  kase  I  beared  him  when 
he  jump  into  his  boat.  You  go  to  bed,  Marse 
Gus,  an'  ole  Sam  look  out  for  the  boats  ;  yes, 
sah,  he  will  so." 


268  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

A  few  more  words  passed  between  the  guard 
and  the  owner  of  the  yacht,  but  the  shrieking  of 
the  wind  prevented  Enoch  and  his  companions 
from  hearing  what  they  were.  When  they  saw 
the  lantern  which  Egan  carried  in  his  hand 
moving  along  the  shore  toward  the  house,  they 
gave  way  on  their  oars  again,  and  half  an  hour 
later  found  them  snug  in  bed.  They  were  much 
disappointed  by  their  failure  to  set  the  yacht 
adrift,  and  Enoch  loudly  condemned  the  ill  luck 
which  seemed  to  follow  him  wherever  he  went, 
and  the  good  luck  that  always  attended  Gus 
Egan's  footsteps. 

"  Yes,  they  will  have  a  good  time  in  spite  of  us, 
and  we  shall  be  obliged  to  stand  by  and  see  them 
enjoy  it,"  chimed  in  Jones,  who  would  have  given 
almost  anything  he  possessed  if  he  had  been  in- 
vited to  make  one  of  Egan's  party. 

"  As  far  as  I  am  individually  concerned,  it 
makes  no  sort  of  difference  to  me  whether  Egan 
enjoys  himself  or  not,"  observed  Lester.  "He 
never  did  anything  to  me,  and  I  should  have  noth- 
ing against  him  if  he  were  not  so  stuck  up  ;  but  I 
am  now  and  forever  opposed  to  that  Don  Gordon, 
who  ought  to  be  abolished.  I'd  give  a  thousand 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S    CABIN.  269 

dollars  if  somebody  would  carry  him  off  and  never 
bring  him  back  again." 

The  way  Lester  said  this  made  Enoch  and 
Jones  laugh  until  their  sides  ached ;  but  they  had 
occasion  to  recall  his  words  before  many  hours 
more  had  passed  away,  and  then  they  did  not  see 
anything  so  very  amusing  in  them.  Lester  after- 
ward uttered  these  sentiments  in  the  hearing  of 
one  who  took  him  at  his  word,  and  acted  accord- 
ingly. 

Enoch  and  his  guests  slept  as  soundly  as  though 
they  had  never  in  all  their  lives  been  guilty  of  any 
thing  mean,  and  when  the  sun  got  up  he  found 
them  sailing  down  the  bay  in  the  Firefly.  After 
an  hour's  run  they  dropped  anchor  in  the  mouth 
of  a  little  creek,  alongside  a  sloop  which  had  a 
small,  lead-colored  skiff  on  her  deck,  and  a  box- 
boat  moored  to  the  stern.  On  the  shore  stood  a 
very  dilapidated  cabin  built  of  unpainted  boards, 
and  in  front  of  the  open  door  sat  Barr,  the  big- 
gunner,  who  was  engaged  in  cleaning  his  double- 
barrel.  The  tone  of  voice  in  which  he  responded 
to  Enoch's  hearty  "  good-morning  "  was  no  doubt 
intended  to  be  polite,  but  his  "  how  dy !  "  sounded 
more  like  a  growl  than  like  words  of  greeting  ; 


270  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

but  when  he  saw  the  schooner  drop  her  anchor 
overboard  he  got  into  his  canoe  and  came  off  to 
take  the  boys  ashore.  He  did  not  seem  disposed 
to  turn  the  cold  shoulder  to  his  visitors,  as  men 
who  make  their  living  in  unlawful  ways  are  gen- 
erally supposed  to  do,  but  that  he  was  angry  over 
the  loss  he  had  sustained  the  day  before  was 
plain  to  be  seen.  He  and  Enoch  were  old  ac- 
quaintances and  friends,  and  he  was  indebted  to 
the  boy  for  the  warning  that  had  enabled  him  to 
hold  fast  to  his  big  gun  as  long  as  he  did. 

"Well,  Mr.  Barr,  what  sort  of  luck  did  you  have 
yesterday  with  the  canvas-backs  and  red-heads  ?  " 
asked  Enoch,  as  he  sprang  down  into  the  canoe. 

"  None  at  all,  dog-gone  it,"  growled  the  man  in 
reply.  "After  Egan  scared  away  them  ducks, 
there  wasn't  nary  other  flock  come  nigh  me  ;  and 
after  you-uns  told  me  that  the  police  had  gobbled 
my  gun,  I  jest  picked  up  my  decoys  and  come 
home.  But  I  will  make  up  for  it  to-night,  I  bet 
you." 

"  Are  you  going  out  ? "  exclaimed  Enoch, 
eagerly. 

"  I  am.  There's  a  big  bed  of  ducks  up  at  Bush 
River,  and  the  wind  is  from  the  right  quarter  to 


THE    BIG-GUNNER'S    CABIN.  271 

keep  them  there  till  to-morrow,  any  way.  If 
some  fool  or  'nother  don't  come  along  and  bang 
into  'em,  I'll  have  a  few  dozen  of  'em  in  Balti- 
more by  morning.  I've  been  powerful  oneasy  for 
fear  that  Egan  and  them  restless  fellers  that's 
stopping  with  him  would  stumble  onto  them 
ducks  and  skeer  them  away.  What  brung  them 
here,  I'd  like  to  know  !  They  don't  stay 
nowhere.  They're  all  over  the  bay  in  a  minute, 
and  I  can't  go  any  place  without  meeting  'em. 
I've  kinder  suspicioned  that  they're  watching 
me." 

"  And  so  they  are,"  explained  Lester,  who  was 
always  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  say  something 
spiteful  about  the  boy  he  did  not  like.  "  That 
Don  Gordon  would  blow  on  you  in  a  minute  if  he 
could.  He  lives  near  me  in  Mississippi,  and  I 
dread  the  idea  of  going  home,  just  because  he  will 
be  there.  I'd  give  something  handsome  if  he 
could  be  sent  so  far  out  of  the  country  that  he 
would  never  find  his  way  back  again." 

"  That's  easy  done,"  said  Barr,  as  he  ran  the 
bow  of  his  canoe  upon  the  beach  and  held  it  there 
with  his  paddle,  so  that  the  boys  could  get  out. 
"  How  much  would  you  be  willing  to  give  ?  " 


272  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  He  said  last  night  that  he  would  give  a  thou- 
sand dollars,"  observed  Jones. 

"  Would  you,  now  ?  "  said  Barr,  looking  earn- 
estly at  Lester. 

"  Yes,  I  would,"  replied  the  latter,  little  dream- 
ing what  desperate  thoughts  his  idle  words  had 
aroused  in  the  mind  of  the  man  before  him.  "  He 
and  his  brother  have  snubbed  me  until  I  am  tired 
of  it.  Although  I  am  one  of  his  nearest  neigh- 
bors, and  have  been  to  school  with  him  for  two 
years,  Don  has  never  given  me  a  helping  hand." 

"  Well,  Egan  has  served  me  the  same  way," 
chimed  in  Enoch.  "Instead  of  helping  me,  he 
picked  up  that  Don  Gordon,  who  was  one  of  the 
biggest  rascals  in  the  school,  and  he  and  Curtis 
and  Hopkins  have  boosted  him  along  until  they 
have  made  him  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  academy 
battalion.  Where  is  the  big  gun,  Mr.  Barr  ?  I 
should  like  to  have  my  friends  see  it,  if  you  don't 
object." 

"All  right,"  replied  Barr.  "I'll  take  my 
double-barrel  along,  so  that  we  can  see  them  to- 
gether." 

So  saying,  the  duck-shooter  led  the  way  down  a 
well-beaten  path,  which  ran  from  his  door,  through 


fc 
p 

o 

s 

m 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S   CABIN.  273 

the  clearing  into  the  woods  behind  the  cabin.  He 
followed  a  zig-zag  course  through  the  thick 
bushes  for  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
more,  and  finally  stopped  beside  a  fallen  log, 
which  lay  about  a  stone's  throw  from  the  path. 
The  log  was  hollow,  and  the  big  gun  was  snugly 
hidden  on  the  inside.  With  much  tugging  and 
panting  Barr  pulled  it  out,  and  raised  it  to  a  per- 
pendicular, so  that  his  visitors  could  have  a  fair 
view  of  it.  After  that,  to  show  them  how  big  it 
was,  he  stood  his  heavy  duck  gun  up  beside  it. 
The  contrast  made  Jones  and  Lester  open  their 
eyes. 

"I  couldn't  be  hired  to  fire  off  that  thing," 
said  the  latter.  "  I  should  think  the  recoil  would 
break  one's  shoulder  all  to  pieces." 

Enoch  and  Barr  laughed  loudly. 

"  You  surely  don't  imagine  that  this  cannon  is 
fired  like  an  ordinary  gun,  do  you  ?  "  exclaimed 
the  former.  "  Why,  man  alive,  it  takes  a  quarter 
of  a  pound  of  powder  and  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
shot  to  load  it.  More  than  that,  it  weighs 
seventy-five  pounds." 

"  It's  the  biggest  thing  in  the  shape  of  a  gun  I 
ever  saw,"  said  Jones. 


274  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  And  yet  it  is  a  toy  when  compared  with  one 
the  detectives,  who  were  sent  down  from  Balti- 
more, seized  last  year/'  answered  Enoch.  "  That 
one  was  ten  feet  long,  weighed  a  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds,  and  cost  a  small  fortune  to  men  who 
have  to  make  their  living  the  way  Barr  does. 
These  big  guns  bring  them  in  their  bread  and 
butter,  and  you  can  imagine  how  friendly  they 
feel  toward  such  fellows  as  Gus  Egan,  who  inter- 
fere with  their  business.  These  wild-fowl  belong 
to  nobody,  and  I  say  that  a  man  has  the  right  to 
get  as  many  of  them  as  he  can,  and  in  any  way  he 
can.'' 

If  Enoch  had  taken  the  trouble  to  interview 
Gus  Egan  on  this  subject,  he  would  have  found, 
to  his  great  surprise,  no  doubt,  that  he  did  not 
know  what  he  was  talking  about.  The  ex-ser- 
geant could  have  told  him  that  all  wild  game  is 
the  property  of  the  State,  and  that  the  people  at 
large,  and  not  single  individuals,  are  the  ones  who 
have  the  right  to  say  when  and  how  it  shall  be 
killed  or  captured. 

"  Them's  my  sentiments,"  said  Barr,  "  and  I 
ain't  going  to  let  no  sportsmen's  clubs  who  live 
up  north  come  down  here  and  tell  me  what  I 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S   CABIN.  275 

shall  and  what  I  shan't  do.  They  want  fun,  but 
I  want  grub." 

"  And  you  ought  to  have  it,"  said  Lester. 
"What  would  Gus  Egan's  father  say  if  you 
should  go  over  to  his  house  and  tell  him  that  he 
must  stop  raising  cattle  and  horses  for  the  Phila- 
delphia markets  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  he'd  kick  me  oif 'n  the  place,  if  he 
was  big  enough,"  answered  Barr,  "  and  the  law 
wouldn't  tech  him  for  it ;  but  if  he  should  come 
over  to  my  shanty  and  tell  me  that  I  must  quit 
shooting  ducks,  and  I  should  take  him  by  the 
collar  and  show  him  the  way  down  the  beach  to 
his  boat,  he'd  have  me  arrested  for  'sault  and  bat- 
tery. I  don't  see  no  sense  in  such  laws." 

"  There's  no  justice  in  them,  certainly,"  Jones 
remarked.  "  Now  how  do  you  shoot  this  thing  ?  " 

"You  saw  that  little  lead-colored  skiff  on 
board  Barr's  sloop,  didn't  you  ?  "  asked  Enoch,  in 
reply.  "  Well,  that  skiff  can  be  navigated  in  the 
water,  or  put  on  runners  and  shoved  over  the  ice. 
The  stock  of  this  gun  is  braced  against  a  block  in 
the  bow,  so  that  the  recoil  sends  the  boat  back 
through  the  water.  If  the  skiff  should  happen  to 
get  foul  of  a  log  or  a  cake  of  ice,  so  that  it  could 


276  THE    TOUXG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

not  move,  it  would  be  kicked  all  to  pieces.  One 
fair  shot  at  a  flock  is  all  a  man  can  reasonably  ex- 
pect to  get  in  one  night;  if  he  gets  two,  he's 
rich." 

When  Lester  and  Jones  had  examined  the  big 
gun  to  their  satisfaction,  Barr  put  it  back  in  its 
hiding-place,  and  scattered  a  few  chunks  of  wood 
carelessly  around  the  base  of  the  log  so  that  the 
hollow  was  partly  concealed.  Then  they  went 
slowly  back  to  the  cabin,  arriving  there  just  in 
time  to  see  the  Magpie  (that  was  the  n,ame  of  the 
police-boat  which  carried  off  one  of  Barr's  big 
guns  the  day  before)  turn  her  bow  toward  the 
creek,  as  if  she  intended  to  make  a  landing  there. 
Barr  gave  utterance  to  some  heavy  adjectives  and 
then  went  into  his  cabin,  from  which  he  presently 
emerged  with  a  bag  over  his  shoulder  and  a  forked 
stick  in  his  hand.  Lester  and  Jones,  who  began 
to  feel  the  weight  of  the  secret  with  which  they 
had  been  intrusted,  looked  frightened,  but  Enoch 
was  as  cool  as  a  cucumber. 

"  You  fellows  keep  quiet  and  let  Barr  and  me 
do  the  talking,"  said  he,  as  he  seated  himself 
on  the  bench  beside  the  door.  "  We  have  come 
here  after  terrapins,  and  Barr  is  just  going  out  to 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S  CABIN.  277 

catch  some  for  us.  That's  what  he's  got  his  bag 
and  stick  for." 

But  Barr  did  not  go  out  after  terrapins.  He 
only  made  preparations  to  go,  so  that  he  could 
readily  account  for  the  presence  of  his  visitors  in 
case  the  officers  demanded  to  know  why  they  were 
there. 

The  Magpie  ran  into  the  creek  and  stopped 
alongside  the  sloop  to  which  the  sink-boat  was 
made  fast ;  but  they  couldn't  touch  that,  Enoch 
said,  because  Barr  was  a  licensed  gunner  as  well 
as  an  illegal  one.  Barr  himself  knew  better,  but 
still  he  pretended  to  be  very  much  surprised  and 
angry  when  he  saw  an  officer  board  the  sloop,  cast 
off  the  painter  with  which  the  sink-boat  was  made 
fast,  and  toss  it  to  a  man  who  was  standing  on 
the  steamer's  forecastle. 

"  What  are  you  about  there  ?  "  he  demanded, 
in  savage  tones.  "You  don't  want  to  handle 
things  with  so  much  looseness,  or  you  may  run 
against  a  snag,  the  first  thing  you  know." 

"  If  you  will  send  off  that  canoe  so  that  I  can 
get  ashore,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  am  doing,  and 
why  I  am  doing  it,"  answered  the  officer,  with  the 
most  provoking  coolness. 


278  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Well,  I  won't  do  it,"  was  Ban's  reply. 
"  Nobody  wants  you  ashore,  but  if  you  are  bound 
to  come,  you  can  call  away  one  of  your  own 
boats." 

"  All  right.  It  will  not  be  much  trouble  to  do 
that.  Put  the  dingy  into  the  water,  Bob/'  said 
the  officer,  addressing  some  one  on  board  the 
steamer.  "  Then  make  the  falls  fast  to  this  sink- 
box,  haul  her  up  to  the  davits  and  take  her 
aboard." 

"  Barr,  that's  the  last  of  your  boat,"  whispered 
Enoch.  "  Your  license  has  been  revoked." 

"And  it's  all  Egan's  fault — and  Don  Gor- 
don's," said  Lester.  "  If  they  hadn't  stumbled 
upon  that  big  gun  yesterday " 

"  They're  all  to  blame  for  it,"  hissed  Barr, 
through  his  clenched  teeth,  "and  if  I  don't 
make  the  last-  one  of  them  wish  that  they  had 
kept  their  fingers  out  of  my  dish,  I'm  a  Dutch- 
man." 

Having  seen  the  sink-boat  disposed  of,  the 
officer  turned  his  attention  to  the  skiff  which  was 
lying  bottom  up  on  the  sloop's  deck.  He  pulled 
it  over  so  that  he  could  see  the  inside  of  it,  and 
the  first  thing  his  eyes  rested  upon  was  the 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S    CABIN.  279 

padded  block  which  served  as  a  brace  for  the 
stock  of  the  big  gun. 

"Here's  another  craft  we  want,  boys,"  said  he. 
"Take  it  aboard." 

By  the  time  this  order  had  been  obeyed  the 
dingy  came  around  the  steamer's  stern,  and  drew 
up  alongside  the  sloop  so  that  the  officer  could 
get  in.  She  brought  with  her,  besides  the  sailor 
who  was  sculling  her,  a  big-whiskered  man 
dressed  in  citizen's  clothes,  who  had  not  before 
showed  himself. 

"  I  never  set  eyes  on  that  man  until  this 
moment,"  whispered  Enoch,  "  but  I'll  bet  any- 
thing I've  got  that  he  is  a  Baltimore  detective." 

"I  know  he  is,"  answered  Barr,  giving  em- 
phasis to  his  assertion  with  one  of  his  heaviest 
oaths.  "  But  he  can't  hurt  me  this  trip.  I 
stood  my  trial  and  paid  my  fine  last  season,  and 
nobody  can't  prove  that  I've  been  big-gunning 
since.  Remember,  boys,  that  it  wasn't  my  gun 
they  gobbled  yesterday." 

"  Of  course  it  wasn't,"  said  Enoch.  "  You 
don't  know  who  owned  it,  and  neither  do 
we." 

At  this  moment  the  dingy's  bow  ran  high  upon 


280  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  beach,  and  the  officer  sprang  out,  followed  by 
the  detective. 

"Mr.  Barr,"  said  the  former,  "your  license  to 
shoot  for  market  in  these  waters  has  been  re- 
voked." 

"What  for?"  demanded  Barr,  doubling  his 
huge  fists  and  scowling  at  the  officer  as  if  he 
wanted  to  knock  him  down. 

"  You  have  been  slaughtering  wild-fowl  con- 
trary to  law,"  was  the  answer. 

"  I  hain't,  nuther,  and  you  can't  prove  it,"  Ban- 
almost  shouted.  "  Show  me  the  man  that  says 
so,  and  I'll  show  you  a  man  that  will  be  whopped 
before  he  can  get  the  words  out  of  his  mouth." 

"  That's  just  the  point,"  replied  the  officer, 
calmly.  "  If  I  could  prove  it  on  you,  it  would  be 
my  duty  to  arrest  you  at  once.  That  skiff  is 
pretty  good  evidence -" 

"It's  one  I  had  left  from  last  year — one  that 
you  and  your  big  Baltimore  detectives  were  not 
smart  enough  to  find,"  interrupted  Barr. 

"Well,  we've  found  it  now,  and  you  are  not 
likely  to  use  it  again  very  soon.  Why  didn't  you 
take  the  block  out  of  it  ?  " 

"  Kase  I  didn't  want  to— that's  why.     I'll  see 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S   CABIN.  281 

whether  or  not  I  won't  use  it  again  to  pick  up  the 
ducks  I  shoot  over  my  decoys.  I'll  have  that 
sink-boat  and  iny  license  back,  too.  I'll  go  up  to 
Havre  do  Grace  to-morrow,  and  if  you  can't  make 
out  a  case  against  me,  I'll  have  you  took  up  for  a 
thief." 

"It  may  be  possible  that  I  shall  want  you  to 
go  back  with  me  to-day,"  said  the  officer,  drawing 
a  legal  document  from  his  breast-pocket. 

"  That  there  is  a  search  warrant,  I  'spose," 
growled  Barr. 

"  That  is  just  what  it  is.  I  want  to  see  if  you 
haven't  got  another  big  gun  stowed  away  some- 
where about  your  premises." 

"  Go  ahead  and  sarch  till  you  are  blind,  if  you 
want  to,"  said  Barr,  angrily.  "  If  you  find  any- 
thing around  here  that  the  law  don't  allow  me 
to  have,  I'll  eat  it.  I  don't  know  who  it  is  that's 
making  all  this  furse  for  me,  but  if  I  can  find 
out,  I'll  have  him  brought  before  the  justice  to- 
morrow. I  got  into  a  muss  last  year  trying  to 
make  grub  for  my  family,  and  I've  been  doing 
as  near  right  as  I  knowed  how  ever  since." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  answered  the  officer,  in  a 
tone  which  implied  that  there  was  considerable 


282  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

doubt  about  it.  "  By  the  way,  Barr,  how  much 
did  that  big  gun  we  found  on  Powell's  Island 
yesterday  cost  you  ?  "  • 

"  'Twan't  mine.  I  never  knew  you  had  found 
one  till  these  young  chaps  told  me,"  said  Barr, 
and  these  were  the  only  truthful  words  he  uttered 
during  the  interview. 

"  Yes,  I  saw  these  boys  there,  and  I  noticed 
that  they  seemed  to  take  a  good  deal  of  interest 
in  the  proceeding." 

"  Was  there  anything  so  very  strange  in  that  ?  " 
asked  Enoch,  boldly.  "  We  wanted  to  see  what 
a  big  gun  looked  like." 

The  boys  did  not  at  all  like  the  look  the  officer 
gave  them  as  he  put  his  warrant  back  into  his 
pocket  and  went  into  the  cabin.  It  seemed  to 
say  that  he  knew  they  could  tell  all  about  that 
big  gun  and  its  owner  if  they  were  disposed  to 
do  so. 

Barr's  house  received  a  thorough  overhauling. 
The  police-officer  and  the  detective  were  experts, 
and  there  was  not  a  nook  or  crevice  that  they  did 
not  look  into.  They  even  examined  the  boards  in 
the  floor  to  see  if  any  of  them  had  been  recently 
nailed  down ;  but  their  search  was  in  vain. 


THE   BIG-GUNNER'S   CABIN.  283 

Then  they  came  out  and  searched  the  clearing, 
looking  under  every  stump  and  log  in  it,  and 
pulling  down  the  brush-heaps,  which  they  left  for 
Barr  to  pile  up  again,  and  finally  they  found  the 
path  that  led  to  the  big  gun's  place  of  conceal- 
ment. Lester  and  Jones  looked  frightened  when 
they  saw  them  disappear  in  the  bushes,  but 
Enoch  and  Burr  were  perfectly  unconcerned. 

"There's  no  cause  for  alarm  yet,"  said  the 
former.  "  The  path  leads  to  a  spring,  and  ends 
in  a  pasture  where  Barr  keeps  his  cow.  The  gun 
is  so  securely  hidden  that  they  will  never  find  it. 
They  stand  as  much  chance  of  being  struck  by 
lightning." 

"  Did  that  officer  mean  to  say  that  Mr.  Barr 
will  not  be  permitted  to  shoot  ducks  any  more  ?  " 
inquired  Lester. 

"  He  might  as  well  have  said  so,"  answered 
Enoch,  "  for  if  his  license  is  taken  away  from  him, 
there  will  be  nothing  left  for  him  except  point 
shooting." 

"What's  that?" 

"  Why,  standing  on  a  point  that  juts  into  the 
bay,  and  shooting  ducks  as  they  fly  over.  But 
Barr  couldn't  do  that,  because  the  most  of  the 


284  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

points  are  leased  to  clubs,  and  those  that  are 
reserved,  are  protected  by  their  owners,  who  will 
prosecute  anybody  who  sets  foot  on  them.  The 
law  regarding  trespass  is  very  strict  in  this 
State." 

Enoch's  prediction  was  verified  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  later,  for  the  officers  came  out  of  the 
woods  empty-handed.  They  had  not  found  the 
big  gun,  and  Enoch  assured  his  companions  that 
they  would  hear  it  speak  to  the  ducks  that  night. 

"  But  suppose  these  officers  should  take  it  into 
their  heads  to  watch  us,"  said  Jones.  "What 
then  ?  " 

"  Let  'em  watch,"  replied  Enoch.  "  Who  cares  ? 
You  don't  for  a  moment  imagine  that  they  would 
find  the  big  gun,  do  you  ?  Not  by  a  long  shot. 
The  instant  they  showed  themselves  the  gun 
would  be  dropped  overboard/' 

"  And  lost  ?  "  exclaimed  Lester. 

"  By  no  means.  As  soon  as  the  coast  was  clear j 
Barr  would  go  back  and  drag  for  it.  It's  very 
often  done." 

The  near  approach  of  the  officers  put  a  stop  to 
the  conversation.  Lester  expected  them  to  look 
crest-fallen  over  their  failure,  but  they  didn't. 


THE   BIG- GUNNER'S   CABIN.  285 

They  were  talking  and  laughing  with  each  other, 
and  were  apparently  in  the  best  of  spirits. 

"  Well,  Barr,"  said  the  one  who  had  the  war- 
rant, "  you've  made  a  good  job  of  hiding  that  un- 
lawful weapon,  but  I  give  you  fair  warning  that 
w«  are  bound  to  have  it,  sooner  or  later." 

"  Then  you'll  get  it  of  somebody  besides  me," 
growled  the  duck-shooter.  "I  tell  you  that  I 
ain't  got  no  big  gun,  and  I  don't  know  nobody 
who  has." 

"I  do,"  answered  the  officer,  "and  when  I  get 
my  hands  on  it,  I  will  show  it  to  you.  This  big- 
gunning  is  against  the  law,  and  it's  got  to  be 
broken  up.  If  you  knew  which  side  your  bread 
was  buttered  on,  you  would  never  fire  that  big  gun 
again.  Can't  you  see  that  you  are  killing  the 
goose  that  lays  the  golden  egg  ?  The  first  thing 
you  know  there  will  be  no  ducks  for  you  to  shoot, 
and  you  will  have  to  look  up  some  other  way  of 
making  a  living." 

"  I  know  as  well  as  you  do  that  there  won't  be 
no  birds  here  after  a  while,"  answered  Barr,  bit- 
terly, "and  it  will  be  all  along  of  them  city  sports- 
men who  come  down  here  and  shoot  for  fun." 

The  big-gunner  began  swearing  lustily,  and  the 


286  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

officers,  seeing  that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  argue 
the  point  with  him,  got  into  the  dingy  and 
pushed  off  to  the  sloop,  which  they  searched  as 
thoroughly  as  they  had  searched  the  house,  but, 
of  course,  without  finding  anything.  Then  they 
went  on  board  the  Magpie,  which  backed  out  of 
the  creek  and  turned  her  prow  toward  Havre  de 
Grace. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

"I'LL    TROUBLE    YOU    FOB   THEM    THOUSAND." 

"TTTHEN  the  police-boat  disappeared  around 
the  point  the  boys  drew  a  long  breath  of 
relief,  and  the  duck-shooter  arose  from  his  seat  on 
the  bench  and  put  away  his  bag  and  stick.  The 
satisfied  grin  they  saw  on  his  face  kept  back  the 
words  of  sympathy  and  condolence  that  arose  to 
their  lips. 

"  I've  kinder  been  looking  for  this  ever  since 
you-uns  told  me  that  they  had  found  that  big 
gun  on  Powell's  Island,"  said  Barr.  "  Now  it's 
over  with,  and  I'm  glad  on't.  I'll  have  them 
things  they  took  away  from  me  back  agin.  They 
can't  tell  me  to  hand  over  my  license  until  they 
prove  that  I've  been  going  agin  the  law,  and 
that's  something  they  can't  do.  Nobody  ain't 
seen  me  shoot  a  big  gun  this  season,  and  nobody 
won't  see  me,  nuther." 


288  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Does  he  mean  to  say  that  we  can't  go  with 
him  to-night  ?  "  whispered  Lester,  as  the  duck- 
shooter  walked  down  to  the  beach  and  pulled  his 
canoe  out  of  the  water. 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Enoch.  "  He  will  let  us  go, 
but  still  we  won't  see  him  fire  the  big  gun,  be- 
cause it  will  be  so  dark  that  we  can't  see  any- 
thing." 

"Did  that  officer  have  any  right  to  take  those 
boats  in  the  way  he  did  ?  "  asked  Jones.  "  To 
me  it  looked  like  a  very  high-handed  proceeding." 

"  Well,  it  wasn't.  They  knew  what  they  were 
about.  City  policemen  very  often  arrest  people 
on  what  they  call  '  general  principles ' ;  that  is, 
because  they  look  suspicious  or  act  so.  These 
officers  have  the  same  authority.  If  Barr  had 
been  an  unlicensed  gunner,  they  would  have  ar- 
rested him  for  having  that  sink-boat  in  his  pos- 
session ;  but  as  he  has  a  permit  to  use  it  on  certain 
days  of  the  week,  they  could  only  take  it  away 
from  him  because  they  suspected  him  of  big-gun- 
ning. If  they  fail  to  make  out  a  case  against 
him,  Barr  will  get  his  boat  back.  He's  going  to 
put  a  block  in  his  canoe  and  use  that  to-night,  in 
place  of  the  skiff  he  lost." 


"  I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."    289 

Enoch  and  his  friends,  who  had  come  prepared 
to  stay  all  day,  sat  on  the  bench  and  watched 
Barr  while  he  was  at  work  on  his  canoe,  and  when 
dinner-time  came  they  gave  him  a  liberal  portion 
of  their  lunch,  in  return  for  the  terrapin  which  he 
roasted  for  them  on  the  coals.  They  spent  the 
afternoon  in  lounging  on  the  beach  and  listening 
to  Barr,  who  would  tell  a  thrilling  story  of  the 
dangers  he  had  seen,  and  the  narrow  escapes  he 
had  had  from  destruction  by  the  elements  and 
capture  by  the  police-boats,  and  then  stop  to  rail 
at  Gus  Egan  and  his  party,  for  finding  his  big 
gun  and  giving  it  up  to  the  officers  of  the  Magpie. 
He  repeatedly  declared  that  he  would  make  them 
sorry  for  that,  and  the  boys,  especially  Lester 
Brigham,  would  have  been  very  badly  frightened 
if  they  had  known  how  deeply  in  earnest  he  was 
when  he  said  it.  Enoch  knew  that  the  duck- 
shooter  was  a  man  who  never  made  idle  threats. 
He  was  suspected  of  many  dark  deeds,  any  one  of 
which  would  have  landed  him  in  the  penitentiary 
if  it  could  have  been  fastened  upon  him,  but  he 
never  dreamed  that  Barr  had  resolved  to  turn  his 
hand  to  something  besides  incendiarism  this  time, 
and  that  the  idea  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  the 
12 


290  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

spiteful  words  that  Lester  Brigham  had  spoken 
against  Don  Gordon. 

The  hours  of  day-light  passed  slowly  away,  and 
finally  darkness  and  a  thick  fog  settled  down  over 
the  bay.  That  suited  Barr,  who,  like  an  owl,  was 
lazy  and  slothful  while  the  sun  shone,  and  full  of 
life  and  activity  when  it  was  out  of  sight.  The 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  bring  out  his  big  gun, 
which  he  proceeded  to  charge  with  a  load  that 
made  Lester  and  Jones  open  their  eyes,  and 
caused  the  former  to  predict  that  there  wouldn't 
be  anything  left  of  the  canoe  after  that  ponderous 
weapon  had  been  fired  in  it.  Then  they  went  out 
to  the  sloop,  and  after  the  canoe  had  been  hauled 
aboard,  and  the  big  gun  placed  close  beside  the 
rail,  so  that  it  could  be  quickly  thrown  overboard, 
in  case  the  Magpie  or  one  of  her  consorts  should 
chance  to  be  hovering  about,  the  sails  were 
hoisted  and  the  little  craft  moved  slowly  out  of 
the  creek. 

Bush  Eiver,  the  place  at  which  Barr  expected 
to  load  his  sloop  with  a  single  discharge  of  his 
big  gun,  was  ten  miles  away,  and  if  they  had 
been  obliged  to  depend  solely  upon  the  wind,  they 
would  not  have  reached  it  before  day-light ;  but 


"  I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  291 

the  tide  was  in  their  favor,  and  carried  them 
ahead  at  such  a  rate  that  at  the  end  of  two  hours 
Barr  began  looking  out  for  his  "partner." 

"  He's  around  here  somewhere/'  said  the  duck- 
shooter,  who  seemed  to  know  right  where  he  was, 
although  the  fog  and  the  darkness  were  so  dense 
that  he  could  not  see  more  than  twenty  feet  ahead 
of  the  sloop's  bow.  "  You  see,  he  has  been  here 
all  day  watching  them  ducks,  to  keep  other  fel- 
lers away,  and  to  make  sure  that  they  were 
going  to  stay  long  enough  for  me  to  have  a  pop 
at  them." 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  could  keep  other  fellows 
away,"  observed  Lester. 

"  Oh,  he  couldn't  keep  a  party  of  '  gentlemen 
sportsmen '  from  firing  into  them,  if  they  should 
happen  along,"  answered  Enoch.  "  He  isn't  ex- 
pected to  do  that ;  but  Barr  isn't  the  only  big- 
gunner  on  the  bay,  and  if  one  of  that  class  should 
discover  the  flock,  the  watcher  would  say  :  '  Those 
are  my  ducks/  and  the  other  fellow,  would  sheer 
off  and  let  them  alone.  There's  honor  even  among 
duck-shooters,  you  know." 

"  Enoch,  give  one  of  your  low,  shrill  whistles," 
said  Barr,  "  and  mebbe  that'll  make  him  show  up." 


292  THE   YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

The  boy  complied  with  the  request,  and  pres- 
ently an  answering  whistle  came  through  the  fog. 
Pete — that  was  the  "partner's"  name — was  on 
the  alert,  but  he  did  not  know  which  way  to  go  to 
find  the  sloop.  Enoch  replied  to  all  his  signals, 
which  were  given  at  short  intervals,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  his  canoe  shot  out  of  the  fog  and  came 
alongside.  Its  occupant  seemed  surprised  to  find 
so  large  a  crew  aboard  the  sloop,  but  he  made  no 
remark.  He  knew  that*Barr  was  much  too  suspi- 
cious to  bring  any  outsiders  with  him  on  an  expe- 
dition like  this  unless  he  was  sure  they  could  be 
trusted. 

"  Well,"  said  Barr,  as  his  partner  sprang  over 
the  rail  and  motioned  to  Enoch  to  lend  a  hand  in 
hauling  his  canoe  aboard,  "how  is  everything  in 
the  river  ?  " 

"  Everything  is  all  right,"  was  the  encouraging 
response.  "  The  bed  is  still  there,  but  the  wind  is 
changing,  and  as  soon  as  the  fog  begins  to  lift 
and  the  tide  to  turn,  they'll  be  off." 

"  Not  all  of  'em,  I  reckon,"  answered  Barr,  with 
a  laugh.  "  Seen  anything  of  the  Magpie  ?  " 

Pete  replied  that  he  had  seen  her  go  toward 
Havre  de  Grace  about  eleven  o'clock  that  morn- 


"I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  293 

ing ;  and  then  Barr  went  on  to  tell  how  the 
officers  had  searched  his  cabin  and  ground  for 
the  big  gun  he  was  to  use  that  night,  interlarding 
his  sentences  with  so  many  frightful  imprecations 
and  threats  against  the  boys  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  all  his  trouble,  that  Lester  shuddered 
while  he  listened.  Still  he  wished  it  had  been 
Don  Gordon,  instead  of  Gus  Egan,  who  had  in- 
curred the  duck-shooter's  enmity. 

"  I  shouldn't  care  much  what  happened  to  him, 
so  long  as  he  wasn't  hurt,"  thought  Lester.  "  I 
simply  wish  that  his  path  and  mine  might  never 
cross  each  other  again.  I  can't  bear  the  sight  of 
him.  I  don't  want  to  see  him  strutting  around 
with  those  silver  leaves  on  his  shoulders,  while  I 
haven't  so  much  as  a  corporal's  stripes  to  be 
happy  over." 

As  soon  as  Pete's  canoe  had  been  hauled  aboard, 
the  sloop  filled  away  on  her  course.  She  had  but 
a  short  distance  farther  to  run,  and  at  the  end  of 
another  half  hour  the  sails  were  quietly  lowered, 
and  the  preparations  for  the  coming  slaughter 
were  quickly  completed.  Barr's  canoe  was  put 
into  the  water,  the  big  gun  lowered  into  it,  and 
then  the  duck-shooter  stretched  himself  out  flat 


294  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

on  the  bottom,  and  with  a  short  paddle,  somewhat 
resembling  a  pudding-stick,  in  each  hand,  moved 
silently  away  into  the  darkness. 

"I  don't  see  any  ducks,"  whispered  Lester,  after 
he  had  tried  in  vain  to  locate  the  flock. 

"  Neither  do  I ;  neither  does  Barr,  yet,"  replied 
Enoch.  "  But  they  are  out  there  somewhere. 
Now  keep  perfectly  still,  and  stand  by  to  lend  a 
hand  with  the  sails  the  minute  you  hear  the 
gun  speak.  After  the  ducks  are  killed,  we  can't 
pick  them  up  and  get  away  from  here  any  too 
quick." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Lester,  who  was  trembling 
with  excitement. 

"  How  do  we  know  but  there  may  be  a  police- 
boat  within  hailing  distance  of  us  ?  "  asked  Enoch, 
in  reply.  "  If  there  is,  she  will  come  at  us  like  a 
hawk  at  a  June  bug,  and  we  want  to  hold  our- 
selves in  readiness  to  run." 

"  But  if  it  should  chance  to  be  the  Magpie,  she 
could  easily  overhaul  us,"  Jones  remarked.  "  She 
goes  by  steam,  while  we  have  nothing  but  this 
very  light  breeze  to  depend  on." 

"  She  might  catch  us,  and  then  again  she  might 
not,"  said  Enoch,  who  did  not  seem  to  be  at  all 


"I'LL  TKOUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  295 

uneasy.  "  This  little  sloop  can  be  pushed  ahead 
at  a  pretty  fair  rate  of  speed  with  a  pair  of  long 
sweeps,  and  this  fog  is  in  our  favor.  The  Magpie 
might  have  hard  work  to  find  us.  We  could  hear 
her  exhaust,  and  that  would  make  it  easy  for  us 
to  keep  out  of  her  way  ;  but  we  should  move 
so  silently  that  she  couldn't  follow  us." 

Enoch,  who  knew  just  what  ought  to  be  done 
and  how  to  do  it,  assisted  Pete  to  get  his  canoe 
overboard,  and  then  the  boys  leaned  against  the 
rail  and  waited  in  silence  to  see  what  was  going 
to  happen.  Barr  had  been  gone  fully  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  nothing  had  been  heard  of  him  ; 
but  now  a  light  shot  up  through  the  darkness, 
glowed  brightly  for  a  moment  and  then  disap- 
peared. The  boys  could  not  tell  where  it  came 
from — they  could  only  see  its  reflection  in 
the  fog. 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  whispered  Jones. 

"  The  flash  of  a  dark-lantern,"  answered  Enoch. 
"  Barr  is  trying  to  find  the  ducks.  Some  hunters 
ignite  a  pinch  of  gun-powder,  but  a  lantern  is 
much  better  because " 

Just  then  the  air  was  rent  by  a  terrific  con- 
cussion, followed  almost  instantly  by  a  roar,  which 


THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLEKS. 

sounded  so  much  like  the  noise  made  by  an 
approaching  storm,  that  Lester  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  crying  out,  so  frightened  was  he. 
The  first  was  the  report  of  the  big  gun,  and  the 
second  was  the  tumult  made  by  the  survivors  of 
the  flock,  as  they  arose  in  the  air  and  sought 
safety  in  flight.  Jones  and  Lester  were  full  of 
questions,  but  Enoch  and  Pete  could  not  stop  to 
answer  them.  The  latter  sprang  into  his  canoe 
and  paddled  away  with  all  speed,  to  assist  in  pick- 
ing up  the  ducks  that  had  fallen  before  the  mur- 
derous fire  of  Barr's  blunderbuss,  while  Enoch 
ran  forward  and  seized  the  jib  halliards. 

"  Lend  a  hand  here,"  said  he,  in  low  but  excited 
tones.  "  This  is  a  dangerous  moment,  and  we 
must  be  ready  to  show  our  heels  at  an  instant's 
warning.  We  have  given  notice  over  a  wide 
stretch  of  country  that  we  are  here,  and  if  there 
are  any  police  about,  they  will  be  along  directly. 
No,  there  were  not  millions  in  the  flock,  but  there 
were  thousands,  undoubtedly.  I  never  heard  such 
a  roar  of  wings  before." 

"What  will  Barr  do  with  his  ducks  after  he 
has  picked  them  up  ?  "  inquired  Jones,  as  he  gave 
a  pull  at  the  port  sheet,  while  Enoch  belayed  the 


"I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  297 

halliard.  "  I  .should  think  he  would  be  afraid  to 
take  them  to  market." 

"Oh,  no,  he  won't.  He'll  take  them  up  to 
Havre  de  Grace  and  sell  them  to  a  man  who  will 
ship  them  north,  or  to  Baltimore.  Shall  we  go 
with  him,  or  go  back  to  the  Firefly  and  turn  in  for 
the  night  ?  " 

"  Didn't  you  tell  me  that  the  detectives  who 
are  sent  down  here  to  break  up  this  night- 
shooting  make  their  headquarters  at  Havre  de 
Grace  ?  "  asked  Lester. 

Enoch  believed  he  had  made  some  such  remark. 

"  Then  I  say,  let's  go  back  to  the  Firefly  ! " 
exclaimed  Lester,  who,  having  seen  one  detective 
that  day,  did  not  want  to  see  another,  for  fear 
that  he  might  ask  some  questions  that  he  would 
not  care  to  answer.  Enoch  laughed  at  his  fears, 
but  agreed  to  go  back,  because  there  wasn't  any 
fun  to  be  seen  in  sailing  twenty  miles  before  a 
light  breeze  on  a  dark  night,  just  to  see  a  boat- 
load of  ducks  sold. 

When  the  mainsail  had  been  hoisted,  Enoch 
went  to  the  wheel,  and  the  sloop  moved  into  the 
river  to  pick  up  the  canoes,  whose  positions  were 
pointed  out  by  occasional  flasties  of  light  from 


298  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

Ban's  lantern.  Pete,  who  was  the  first  to  come 
alongside,  said,  in  response  to  Enoch's  inquiries, 
that  they  had  secured  seven  dozen  and  three 
hirds.  How  many  had  escaped  to  die  of  their 
wounds  in  the  marshes,  or  to  be  eaten  by  sea- 
gulls, weasels  or  foxes,  Pete  didn't  state.  The 
u  gentlemen  sportsmen,"  of  whom  Enoch  had  so 
iightly  spoken,  always  made  it  a  point  to  allow  no 
injured  bird  to  get  away  if  they  could  help  it ; 
but  these  two  professionals  did  not  belong  to  that 
class.  They  took  care  of  the  dead,  and  left  the 
wounded  to  look  out  for  themselves. 

"  Eighty-seven  birds  at  one  fire  ! "  exclaimed 
Lester,  who  was  profoundly  astonished. 

"That's  nothing,"  replied  Enoch.  "The  big 
gun  I  told  you  of  this  morning  has  been  known 
to  knock  over  more  than  a  hundred  at  one  shot. 
Where's  Barr  ?  " 

"  Gone  ashore  to  hide  the  gun,"  answered  Pete. 
"  If  you  and  your  pardners  will  help  with  these 
ducks,  we'll  pick  him  up  and  get  out  of  this  as 
quick  as  we  know  how." 

Enoch  and  his  companions,  who  were  quite  as 
anxious  to  put  a  safe  distance  between  themselves 
and  Bush  River'  as  Pete  was,  willingly  assisted 


"I'LL  TKOUBLE  YOU  FOB  THEM  THOUSAND."  299 

him  in  unloading  his  canoe  and  stowing  the  ducks 
on  board  the  sloop.  This  work  being  done,  they 
set  out  in  search  of  Barr,  who,  having  concealed 
his  gun  so  that  he  could  easily  find  it  again  when 
he  returned  from  Havre  de  Grace,  pulled  the  slide 
of  his  lantern  now  and  then  to  show  them  where 
he  was.  He  was  glad  to  let  Enoch  have  his  canoe 
to  go  back  to  the  Firefly,  for  it  saved  him  the 
trouble  of  hiding  it  in  the  marshes.  Bold  as  he 
was,  Barr  would  have  thought  twice  before  taking 
it  to  Havre  de  Grace  on  board  the  sloop.  If  the 
officers  who  visited  his  cabin  that  morning  should 
happen  to  get  a  glimpse  of  it,  they  would  know 
what  he  had  been  doing,  for  the  recoil -block, 
which  was  not  there  when  they  saw  the  canoe, 
would  condemn  him  at  once. 

When  Barr  sprang  aboard  his  sloop,  the  boys 
dropped  down  into  the  canoe,  and  the  two  crafts 
moved  away  in  opposite  directions,  both  reaching 
their  destinations  without  any  mishap,  but  not 
without  some  exertion.  Barr  spent  a  good  deal 
of  time  in  dodging  the  Magpie,  whose  familiar 
exhaust  betrayed  her  presence,  and  the  boys  were 
obliged  to  paddle  almost  twice  ten  miles,  fol- 
lowing, as  they  did,  all  the  windings  of  the  shore 


300  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

in  order  to  keep  their  bearings.  They  were  tired 
enough  when  they  climbed  over  the  Firefly's  rail, 
and  too  sleepy  to  make  up  the  bunks,  so  they 
threw  themselves  down  on  the  floor  of  the  cabin, 
and  with  their  hats  and  boots  for  pillows,  slept 
soundly  until  Barr's  hoarse  voice  aroused  them. 
They  woke  up  long  enough  to  hear  him  tell  of 
his  adventure  with  the  Magpie,  and  then  went 
off  into  dream-land  again,  where  they  stayed  until 
nearly  eight  o'clock.  By  that  time  they  were 
hungry,  and  the  remains  of  their  lunch,  supple- 
mented by  a  "  diamond  back,"  which  Barr  roasted 
for  them,  only  served  to  give  them  a  sharper 
appetite  for  their  dinner.  The  duck-shooter  was 
in  excellent  spirits.  He  and  his  partner  had 
made  twenty  dollars  apiece  by  their  night's  work; 
During  the  run  from  Havre  de  Grace  they  had 
spied  another  big  bed,  and  Pete  had  remained 
behind  to  watch  it.  But  this  announcement  did 
not  tempt  the  boys  to  stay  and  go  out  on  another 
night  expedition.  They  were  all  tired  and  hun- 
gry, and  two  of  them  had  seen  as  much  of  law- 
breakers and  their  ways  as  they  cared  to  see  for 
some  time  to  come  ;  so  they  filled  away  for  home, 
passing  close  enough  to  the  Sallie  to  see  that 


"I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  301 

she  was  still  above  water,  and  that  Egan  and 
his  guests  were  making  ready  to  go  somewhere 
in  her. 

Enoch  and  his  friends  spent  the  rest  of  the  day 
in  doing  nothing,  and  very  hard  work  they  found 
it ;  but  the  day  following  brought  excitement  with 
it,  and  much  more  than  they  wanted,  too.  As 
they  could  think  of  no  better  way  of  passing  the 
time,  they  set  sail  in  the  Firefly  at  an  early  hour, 
intending  to  spend  the  day  in  camp  on  Powell's 
Island,  and  to  knock  over  any  ducks  that  might 
happen  to  come  in  their  way ;  but  their  hearts 
were  not  in  the  work,  and  the  bag  they  took  home 
with  them  was  not  worth  bragging  about.  Enoch 
and  Jones,  who  were  very  fine  shots,  managed  to 
kill  half  a  dozen  birds  between  them,  but  Lester 
missed  every  one  he  fired  at.  The  day  was  raw 
and  windy,  and  Lester,  who  did  the  most  of  his 
shooting  and  fishing  with  his  mouth,  found  much 
more  pleasure  in  hugging  the  camp-fire  than  he 
did  in  exposing  himself  to  the  keen  blasts,  which 
could  not  have  been  a  great  deal  colder  if  they 
had  come  off  an  iceberg.  He  was  glad  when 
Enoch  announced  that  it  was  time  to  go  home, 
but  when  he  got  there,  he  wished  that  he  had 


302  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

gone  as  straight  as  he  could  to  Havre  de  Grace 
and  taken  the  first  train  for  Cairo.  The  schooner 
had  hardly  stopped  at  her  moorings  when  Barr 
appeared  as  if  by  magic.  The  first  hint  they  had 
of  his  presence  was  a  low  "  how  dy,  boys/'  and, 
upon  looking  up,  they  saw  him  peering  over  the 
rail,  to  which  he  held  fast  with  both  hands,  in 
order  to  keep  his  canoe  in  position. 

"  Hallo  !  "  exclaimed  Enoch.  "  Where  did  you 
drop  down  from,  and  what  do  you  want  here  in 
broad  day-light  ?  " 

"I  have  been  in  that  there  cove  waiting 
for  you,  and  I  want  to  see  Brigham,"  was  the 
reply. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  see  me  for  ?  "  demanded 
Lester,  who  was  not  a  little  nettled  by  the  man's 
familiarity. 

"Come  over  here,  and  I'll  tell  you,"  said  the 
duck-shooter  ;  and  the  way  he  said  it  aroused  the 
boys'  curiosity  to  the  highest  pitch.  They  moved 
to  the  side,  and  Barr  continued,  as  he  nodded  his 
head  toward  Enoch  and  Jones  :  "You  don't  mind 
if  these  fellers  hear  it,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Certainly  not,"  answered  Lester,  whose  sur- 
prise began  to  give  way  to  alarm.  "I  am  per- 


"  I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."    303 

fectly  willing  they  should  hear  anything  you  have 
to  say  to  me." 

"  Well,  then,",  said  Barr,  and  the  boys  after- 
ward told  one  another  that  there  was  something 
like  a  defiant  ring  in  his  voice  as  he  uttered  the 
words,  "  I'll  trouble  you  for  them  thousand." 

"  That  thousand  ! "  repeated  Lester,  with  no 
suspicion  of  the  truth  in  his  mind.  "What 
thousand  ?  " 

"  Have  you  forgot  all  about  it  so  soon  ?  "  ex- 
claimed Barr,  angrily.  "I  ain't,  if  you  have.  I 
mean  them  thousand  dollars  you  said  you  would 
give  if  somebody  would  send  that  Don  Gordon  so 
far  out'n  the  country  that  you  wouldn't  never  see 
him  no  more.  Remember  it  now,  I  reckon,  don't 
you  ?  " 

Lester  was  thunder-struck.  He  tried  to  speak, 
but  the  words  he  would  have  uttered  seemed  to 
stick  fast  in  his  throat.  He  reeled  as  if  Barr  had 
dealt  him  a  stunning  blow,  and  would  have  fallen 
to  the  deck  if  he  had  not  clung  to  the  rail  for 
support. 

"Great  Scott!  what  have  you  done?"  cried 
Enoch,  who  was  the  first  to  recover  the  use  of  his 
tongue. 


304  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"I've  give  Gus  Egan  something  to  busy  him- 
self with,  so  that  he  will  have  no  time  to  spend  in 
running  around  and  skeering  away  my  ducks," 
said  Barr,  savagely.  "He  didn't  seem  to  know 
how  to  spend  his  vacation,  but  he  won't  be 
troubled  that  way  no  more." 

"  But  what  have  you  done  ?  "  repeated  Enoch. 
"  And  if  you  have  been  guilty  of  any  rascality, 
why  do  you  come  here  to  tell  us  of  it  ?  I  am  sure 
that  we  are  in  no  way  interested  in  your  affairs." 

"  Ain't  you,  now  ?  "  cried  Barr,  who  seemed  to 
be  so  sure  of  his  ground  that  even  Enoch  began 
to  be  frightened.  "  If  you  ain't  interested  in  the 
matter,  Brigham  is,  for  a  fact.  He  said  he  would 
be  willing  to  pay  liberal  if  that  Gordon  boy  was 
sent  away,  so't  he  wouldn't  never  see  him  no  more, 
and  I " 

"And  did  you  think  I  was  in  earnest  when  I 
said  it  ?  "  Lester  almost  shouted.  He  began  to 
understand  what  the  duck-shooter  was  trying  to 
get  at,  and  his  intense  alarm  took  away  all  his 
strength  and  pretty  near  all  his  wits.  He  sat 
down  on  the  Firefly's  deck  and  looked  about  him 
as  if  he  were  trying  to  make  up  his  mind  which 
way  he  could  run  first. 


"  I'LL  TROUBLE  YOU  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."  305 

"  Did  I  think  you  was  in  'arnest  ?  "  repeated 
Barr.  "  Of  course  I  did.  If  you  wasn't,  you  had 
no  business  to  say  what  you  did.  I  have  done  the 
work,  and  I  want  my  money." 

"  But  what  have  you  done  ?  "  said  Enoch,  again. 
"  Where  is  Don  Gordon  now  ?  " 

"  He's  on  his  way  to  Chiny,"  was  the 
astounding  reply,  "and  he  won't  come  back 
to  trouble  none  of  you  for  three  long  years,  at 
least." 

"  Then  you  kidnapped  him  and  put  him  aboard 
a  vessel  ?  "  said  Enoch. 

"  I  did,  for  a  fact." 

"  You  didn't  hurt  him  ?  " 

"  Well,  as  to  that,  I  can't  say  for  certain," 
answered  Barr,  reflectively.  "He  fought  so  un- 
common hard  that  for  a  time  it  looked  as  though 
he  was  going  to  whop  the  pair  of  us,  and  Pete  had 
to  quiet  him  with  a  rap  on  the  head.  Pete  after- 
ward said  he  was  sorry  he  teched  him,  for  he  was 
pluck  to  the  back-bone,  and  he'd  bet  he  was  a 
good  feller." 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  let  him  go  ?  "  demanded 
Enoch,  who  did  the  most  of  the  talking.  Jones 
and  Lester  were  so  nearly  stunned  by  the  startling 


306  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

piece  of  news  Barr  had  brought  them,  that  they 
hardly  knew  what  they  were  doing. 

"  We  couldn't  let  him  go,  kase  we'd  gone  too 
far,"  replied  the  duck-shooter.  "  He'd  have  taken 
the  law  on  us  the  minute  he  got  loose.  Now, 
Brigham,  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

"  He  won't  do  anything  about  it,"  said  Enoch, 
who  saw  that  Lester  could  not  speak  for  himself. 
"  He  didn't  tell  you  that  he  wanted  Don  Gordon 
shanghaied  and  sent  off  to  China,  and  if  you  have 
done  any  such  mad  work  as  that,  which  I  don't 
believe,  you  need  not  expect  him  to  pay  you 
for  it." 

"  That's  it,"  cried  Lester,  who  was  quick  to 
catch  at  the  idea  Enoch  had  thrown  out.  "  You 
never  did  it.  You  took  advantage  of  some 
thoughtless  words  we  uttered  yesterday,  and  have 
cooked  up  this  story  to  extort  money  from  me. 
But  you  have  reckoned  without  your  host.  I 
haven't  got  a  thousand  cents  ;  so  there,  now." 

The  duck-shooter's  eye  had  a  dangerous  look  in 
it,  but  lie  answered  very  calmly  : 

"  You  can't  creep  out  of  no  little  hole  like  that. 
I  done  the  «work  you  said  you  wanted  done,  and  it 
won't  be  long  before  you  will  hear  somebody  else 


"I'LL  TROUBLE  TOD  FOR  THEM  THOUSAND."    307 

say  so.  After  you  have  had  time  to  find  out  that 
I  have  told  you  the  truth,  I  shall  come  for  my 
money,  and  I  expect  to  get  it,  too.  I  do,  for  a 
fact." 

So  saying,  Barr  sat  down  in  his  canoe  and 
paddled  away,  leaving  three  badly  -  frightened 
boys  behind  him.  They  were  so  bewildered  that 
they  could  not  think  clearly.  The  only  facts  they 
could  grasp  were  that  Don  Gordon  had  been  kid- 
napped and  shipped  off  to  China,  and  that  Ban- 
wanted  a  thousand  dollars  for  it.  Enoch,  as 
before,  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  Lester,"  said  he,  "  if  that  man  told  the  truth, 
I  wouldn't  be  in  your  boots  for  all  the  money 
there  is  in  America." 

"  Neither  would  I,"  Jones  managed  to  articu- 
late. 

"  I  never  said  '  thousand  dollars '  to  him  once," 
exclaimed  Lester,  with  a  little  show  of  spirit.  "  I 
don't  believe  he  would  dare  do  such  a  thing,  any 
way." 

"  You  don't  know  that  man.  There's  nothing 
he  dare  not  do  if  he  thinks  there  is  money  in  it. 
But  we  shall  soon  know  the  truth,"  said  Enocht 
in  a  trembling  voice.  "  Here  comes  the  Sallie  ! " 


308  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

Jones  and  Lester  looked  up,  and  sure  enough 
there  was  Egan's  cutter  coming  down  before  a 
brisk  breeze,  with  all  her  canvas  spread.  There 
was  something  aggressive  in  the  way  she  cut 
through  the  water,  headed  directly  for  the 
schooner,  and  Lester's  heart  sank  within  him, 
while  his  head  sank  below  the  rail. 

"  I  think  myself  that  the  best  thing  you  can  do 
is  to  keep  out  of  sight,"  said  Enoch.  "Egan 
wants  to  speak  to  us,  and  one  glimpse  of  your 
face  would  betray  you,  as  sure  as  you're  a  foot 
high." 

Enoch's  face  was  a  good  deal  whiter  than  it 
usually  was,  but  he  had  the  nerve  to  carry  him 
through  an  ordeal  that  Lester  could  not  have 
braved  to  save  his  life.  He  pretended  to  be  at 
work  at  something  about  the  windlass,  and  when 
the  expected  hail  came  he  was  ready  to  answer  it. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A    SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY. 

"TpIREFLY,  there  1"  shouted  Egan,  from  the 
deck  of  the  cutter,  which  had  been 
thrown  up  into  the  wind  a  short  distance  away. 

"On  hoard  the  Sallie  ! "  replied  Enoch. 

"  Did  you  see  anything  of  Don  Gordon  yester- 
day ?  "  continued  Egan. 

"I  saw  him  with  the  rest  of  you,  while  you 
were  preparing  to  get  under  way,"  was  the  prompt 
reply.  "  But  I  haven't  seen  him  since." 

"  Well,  this  bangs  me,"  said  Egan,  turning  to 
his  companions,  all  of  whom  were  gathered  about 
him  in  the  standing-room.  If  Enoch  had  needed 
any  further  evidence  to  satisfy  him  that  the  duck- 
shooter  had  told  nothing  but  the  truth,  he  could 
have  found  it  in  their  faces. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  Don  ?  "  said  he.  He 
knew  that  the  surest  way  to  avoid  suspicion  was 


310  THE    YOUNG    WILD-roWLERS. 

to  appear  to  take  an  interest  in  the  matter.  Be- 
sides, he  wanted  to  hear  some  of  the  particulars  of 
the  kidnapping,  for  he  hadn't  thought  to  ask  Barr 
to  go  into  the  details. 

"We  hope  there  is  nothing  the  matter  with 
him,"  answered  Egan,  "  but  we  are  beginning  to 
feel  very  anxious.  He  disappeared  suddenly  yes- 
terday afternoon,  and  we  haven't  been  able  to  find 
the  least  trace  of  him." 

"  Where  did  you  see  him  last  ? "  inquired 
Enoch,  whose  self-control  was  really  wonderful. 
Don  was  gone — there  was  no  doubt  about  that — 
and  his  friend  Lester  was  the  remote  cause  of  any 
trouble  he  might  have  got  into.  What  was  to  be 
done  about  it  ?  That  was  the  question  that 
Enoch  was  trying  to  answer  while  he  waited  for 
Egan's  reply. 

"We  last  saw  him  on  Conesus  Creek,"  said 
Egan.  "  We  started  yesterday  morning  for  Spe- 
sutia  Island,  intending  to  camp  out  for  a  few 
days.  When  we  arrived  nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  we  discovered  a  flock  of  swans 
in  the  bay  above,  and  landed  to  have  a  shot  at 
them  ;  and  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  Don  Gor- 
don. There  was  no  possible  chance  for  him  to  get 


A    SWIM    FOR   LIBERTY.  311 

drowned,  even  if  he  were  not  the  expert  swimmer 
he  is,  and  if  he  managed  to  lose  himself,  he  can 
use  his  tongue  in  recovering  his  bearings  ;  so  we 
confidently  expect  that  he  will  turn  up  all  right 
during  the  course  of  the  day,  but  it  would  relieve 
our  suspense  if  we  could  gain  some  clue  to  his 
whereabouts.  May  we  depend  upon  you  to  lend 
him  a  hand  if  you  happen  to  strike  him  any- 
where ?  " 

"Indeed  you  may,"  replied  Enoch;  and  he 
meant  every  word  of  it.  He  began  to  see  what  a 
despicable  fellow  he  was.  We  can't  tell  how  his 
eyes  came  to  be  opened  just  at  that  minute,  but 
we  know  that  such  things  do  happen  sometimes, 
and  very  suddenly,  too.  What  had  Don  and  his 
friends  done  to  him  that  he  should  hate  them 
so  cordially  ?  He  couldn't  point  to  a  single 
thing. 

"  We  thank  you  for  that  assurance,"  said  Egan, 
as  the  Sallie  came  about  and  started  back  up  the 
bay.  "  If  Don  should  unfortunately  be  in  trouble, 
I  don't  know  of  any  one  I  would  rather  have  find 
him  than  you,  for  I  have  seen  your  pluck  tested. 
Good-bye,  and  may  you  have  better  luck  than  we 
have  had  so  far." 


312  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

For  once,  Enoch  saluted,  and  Egan  and  his 
companions  were  prompt  to  return  it.  As  the 
former  walked  back  to  the  cockpit,  in  which 
Lester  and  Jones  were  sitting,  he  pulled  off  his 
hat  and  beat  his  own  head  with  his  fist. 

"  Take  that  for  your  foolishness,"  said  he,  ad- 
dressing himself  in  savage  tones,  "and  learn  to 
have  more  sense  in  future." 

"  What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  ?  "  exclaimed 
Jones,  who  wondered  if  his  friend  had  suddenly 
gone  crazy. 

"  Say,  Lester,"  began  Enoch,  without  stopping 
to  reply  to  the  question,  "  you  heard  what  Egan 
said  to  me,  of  course  ?  Then  I  hope  you  fully 
realize  what  a  muss  you  have  got  into.  I  tell  you 
plainly  that  Barr  is  a  bad  man.  I  don't  for  a 
moment  believe  that  he  thought  you  were  in  earn- 
est in  what  you  said  about  Don,  while  we  were 
at  his  cabin.  My  idea  is  that  those  ducks  in 
Conesus  Creek  were  the  ones  that  Pete  was  to 
watch.  Egan  and  his  party  came  up  and  fright- 
ened them  away,  and  Barr,  accidentally  stumbling 
upon  Don,  who  had  got  bewildered  in  the 
marshes,  made  a  prisoner  of  him  out  of  a  desire 
for  revenge.  Then  he  happened  to  think  of  what 


A   SWIM   FOR  LIBERTY.  313 

you  said  about  that  money,  and  so  he  came  here 
and  demanded  it." 

"  But  what  do  you  suppose  he  did  with  Don  ?" 
inquired  Jones. 

"  I  really  believe  that  he  shipped  him  off  on 
some  vessel ;  and  if  he  did — by  gracious,  Lester, 
you  had  better  go  home." 

"That's  just  what  I  want  to  do,"  whined  Les- 
ter, who  had  already  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  not  pass  another  night  in  Maryland,  if 
there  were  any  way  for  him  to  get  out  of  it. 

"  Because,  if  you  stay  here,  you  are  bound  to 
get  into  trouble,"  continued  Enoch.  "If  you 
don't  pay  Barr,  he  will  give  you  away  to  the 
police " 

"  No  !  "  gasped  Lester. 

"Yes,  he  will.  I  know  him  and  you  don't. 
General  Gordon,  of  course,  will  offer  a  big  reward, 
and  Barr  will  do  his  best  to  earn  it.  If  you  hand 
over  the  money  he  demands " 

"  But  how  can  I  ?  "  cried  Lester,  who  was  so 
nearly  overcome  with  terror,  that  he  trembled  in 
every  limb.  "  What  excuse  can  I  make  to  my 
father  for  asking  him  for  so  large  a  sum  of 
money  ?  " 

14 


314  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  You  Can't  pay  it,  and  you  mustn't  ask  him  for 
it ;  that  much  is  settled  ;  but  you  can  go  home, 
and  my  advice  to  you  is  to  do  it  at  once.  If  you 
should  pay  Barr  the  smallest  amount,  he  would 
have  a  hold  on  you  that  he  wouldn't  be  slow  to 
make  use  of.  I  tell  you,  fellows,  this  thing  has 
opened  my  eyes,  and  from  this  time  out  I  turn 
over  a  new  leaf  and  mend  my  ways,"  said  Enoch, 
snatching  up  one  of  the  cushions  and  banging  the 
rail  with  it.  "  No  more  mean  tricks  do  I  engage 
in.  I've  got  two  years  more  at  school,  and  I  am 
going  back  next  term  to  make  up  for  misspent 
time.  That's  a  word  with  a  bark  on  it" 

"  And  just  the  minute  my  back  is  turned,  you 
will  blow  on  me,  will  you  ?  "  cried  Lester.  "  I 
haven't  done  anything  the  law  can  take  hold  of 
me  for." 

"  I  know  you  haven't,  but  if  Barr  takes  it  into 
his  head  to  do  so,  he  can  make  the  country  about 
here  unpleasantly  warm  for  you,  all  the  same.  If 
you  go  home,  he  may  think  it  to  his  best  interests 
to  keep  still ;  and  if  he  does,  no  one  will  ever  sus- 
spect  that  you  put  such  an  idea  into  his  mind.  I 
shall  not  say  a  word  about  it,  and  neither  will 
Jones." 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  315 

"What  apology  shall  I  make  to  your  father 
and  mother  for  going  away  at  such  short  notice  ?  " 

"  You  needn't  make  any.  Leave  it  to  me,  and 
I  will  fix  it  all  right.  Pack  your  trunk  as  soon  as 
you  can,  and  I  will  take  you  up  to  Havre  de 
Grace  in  the  Firefly.  I  am  sorry,  indeed,  that 
the  visit  from  which  you  expected  to  derive  so 
much  pleasure,  has  ended  in  this  way,  but  it  is 
too  late  to  remedy  the  matter  now.  I  blame  my- 
self for  taking  you  over  to  Barr's  cabin  yesterday. 
If  we  had  kept  away  from  there,  this  thing  would 
never  have  happened." 

"If  Don  should  happen  to  turn  up  after  all, 
you  won't  lisp  a  word  to  lead  him  or  any  one  else 
to  suspect  that  I  knew  anything  about  his  abduc- 
tion, will  you  ?  " 

"  Not  a  word — not  a  blessed  word.  You  may 
depend  upon  that." 

While  the  boys  were  talking  in  this  way,  they 
were  paddling  toward  the  shore  in  the  canoe 
which  Enoch  used  in  going  to  and  from  the  Fire- 
fly. When  they  reached  the  house,  Lester  went 
at  once  to  his  room,  leaving  Enoch  to  explain 
matters  to  his  parents,  which  he  did,  by  telling 
them  that  Lester  had  just  heard  some  news  that 


316  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

he  did  not  care  to  make  public,  but  which 
rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should  start  for 
Rochdale  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Williams  were  sorry  to  have  him  go 
before  his  visit  was  half  over,  and  expressed  the 
hope  that  he"  would  return  at  some  future  time 
and  finish  it.  This  Lester  promised  to  do,  but 
without  the  least  intention  of  keeping  his  word. 
If  he  once  got  safely  out  of  Barr's  way,  he  told 
himself,  he  would  not  willingly  come  in  his  path 
again.  He  was  afraid  of  the  duck-shooter,  as  he 
had  reason  to  be,  and  it  was  not  until  Enoch's 
home  had  been  left  far  behind,  and  the  lights  at 
Havre  de  Grace  came  into  view,  that  he  began  to 
breathe  easily  again.  But  he  wasn't  clear  of  Barr 
yet,  if  he  had  only  known  it. 

The  wharf  at  which  Enoch  landed  was  bril- 
liantly lighted,  and  a  large  force  of  men  was 
engaged  in  loading  a  coaster  that  was  almost 
ready  to  sail.  Leaning  against  a  snubbing-post 
close  by,  was  the  familiar  figure  of  a  man  who 
seemed  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  was 
going  on  around  him,  although  what  he  could  see 
that  was  new  or  novel  in  so  simple  a  proceeding  as 
the  loading  of  a  coasting  vessel,  Enoch  could  not 


A    SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  317 

determine.  The  man  was  Barr,  and  Enoch  dis- 
covered and  recognized  him  just  in  time  to  warn 
Lester,  who  went  down  the  companion-ladder  in 
two  jumps. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  he  is  doing  here  at  this 
time  of  night  ?  "  asked  Jones.  "  He  ought  to  be 
out  with  that  big  gun." 

"  He  has  some  business  on  hand,  you  may  de- 
pend upon  that,"  replied  Enoch.  "  What  it  is,  I 
can't  even  guess  ;  but  I  am  sure  on  one  point,  and 
that  is,  if  we  want  to  get  Lester  to  the  depot  with- 
out seeing  trouble  on  the  way,  we  must  move 
away  from  here  and  land  him  at  some  pier  higher 
up." 

"  You  don't  imagine  that  Barr  would  have  any- 
thing to  say  about  it,  do  you  ?  "  said  Jones,  who 
did  not  believe  that  the  duck-shooter  was  reckless 
enough  to  raise  a  storm  in  which  he  was  sure  to 
be  the  chief  sufferer. 

"  I  know  he  would.  If  he  saw  Lester  boarding 
the  train,  he  would  try  to  stop  him  by  threaten- 
ing him  with  exposure.  Let's  get  rid  of  Lester 
the  easiest  way  we  can,  and  then  make  a  solemn 
promise  that  we  will  never  have  anything  to  do 
with  another  like  him  as  long  as  we  live." 


318  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"Agreed,"  said  Jones,  eagerly.  "There's  my 
hand  on  it.  I  may  not  succeed  in  winning  a 
warrant  or  a  shoulder-strap  next  term,  but  I  can 
show  the  teachers  that  I  am  sorry  for  what  I  have 
done,  and  mean  to  do  better." 

"I  wish  we  could  begin  by  helping  Don  Gordon 
in  some  way,"  said  Enoch,  looking  sharply  at  the 
coaster,  as  the  Firefly  sailed  slowly  by  her.  "  Say, 
Jones !  Between  you  and  me,  I  believe  that 
Barr  drew  on  his  imagination  when  he  declared 
that  he  had  sent*  Don  off  to  China.  If  I  know 
anything,  he  is  on  board  that  schooner.  That's 
the  reason  Barr  is  hanging  around  her.  He  wants 
to  see  that  Don  doesn't  escape  before  she  sails." 

These  words  fairly  staggered  Jones,  who  was  so 
highly  excited  by  them  that  he  wasn't  of  much 
use  to  Enoch,  for  he  could  give  him  no  intelligent 
help  in  making  the  next  landing.  Fortunately, 
Enoch  was  a  whole  crew  in  himself,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  the  Firefly  alongside  the  pier 
unaided,  but  she  bumped  so  hard  that  Lester 
came  up  o*t  of  the  cabin  to  see  what  was  the 
matter. 

"  The  coast  is  clear  now,"  said  Enoch.  "  Pass 
up  your  trunk,  and  we'll  carry  it  to  the  street  and 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  319 

see  if  we  can  find  a  carriage  to  take  us  to  the 
depot.  Jones,  you  stay  here  and  keep  an  eye  on 
the  schooner." 

Lester  was  so  impatient  to  be  off,  that  he  wasted 
no  time  in  taking  leave  of  his  friend  Jones.  He 
gave  his  hand  a  slight  shake,  said  he  hoped  to 
meet  him  again  at  no  distant  day,  and  then  turned 
to  assist  Enoch  in  getting  his  trunk  over  the  side. 
They  found  a  carriage  at  the  nearest  stand,  and  in 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  more  Lester  was  sitting  in 
the  waiting-room  at  the  depot,  with  his  check  and 
a  ticket  for  Cairo  in  his  pocket. 

"  Well,  good-by,"  said  Enoch,  holding  out  his 
hand. 

"  You  are  not  going  away  now  ? "  exclaimed 
Lester,  beginning  to  grow  frightened  again.  li  I 
thought  you  would  stay  and  see  me  off." 

"Why,  it  will  be  two  hours  before  the  next 
train  starts  for  Baltimore,  and  I  must  be  well  on 
my  way  home  by  that  time,"  replied  Enoch. 
"  You  are  not  afraid  to  stay  alone  ?  Barr  won't 
come  up  here ;  you  needn't  worry  about  that. 
I  will  keep  my  eyes  and  ears  open,  and  if  I 
see  or  hear  anything  of  Don,  I  will  drop  you  a 
line.  Good-by,  and  good  luck  to  you." 


320  THE    YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

Seeing  that  his  companion  was  bound  to  go 
whether  he  liked  it  or  not,  Lester  reluctantly  pro- 
nounced the  parting  words,  and  Enoch  vanished 
through  the  door.  If  Lester  could  have  seen  him 
as  he  ran  down  the  street,  he  would  have  said 
that  Enoch  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  start  for  home, 
but  he  would  have  shot  wide  of  the  mark.  Enoch 
was  determined  that  he  would  not  see  home  again 
until  he  had  found  out  whether  or  not  Don 
Gordon  was  a  prisoner  on  that  coaster,  as  Barr's 
actions  led  him  to  believe.  If  he  were,  he  (Enoch) 
would  have  him  released  at  once,  or  he  would 
have  Barr  arrested  for  conspiracy,  abduction, 
slaughtering  ducks  with  big  guns,  and  for  almost 
everything  else  that  was  against  the  law. 

"Don't  do  that,"  remonstrated  Jones,  who 
listened  in  great  amazement,  while  his  friend  un- 
folded his  plans.  "  If  you  do,  he  will  certainly 
make  you  suffer  for  it." 

"Can't  help  it  if  he  does,"  answered  Enoch, 
who  was  brave  in  every  cause  he  espoused, 
whether  good  or  bad.  "I  have  played  a  mean 
part  toward  Don  and  Bert,  just  because  I  disliked 
Egan  without  a  cause,  and  wanted  to  show  that  I 
was  a  friend  to  Lester,  and  if  I  can  make  amends 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  321 

for  it  in  any  way,  I  am  going  to  do  it,  I  don't  care 
a  snap  what  happens  to  me." 

"  And  I  will  stand  by  you,"  said  Jones,  "  but 
I  am  afraid  we  can't  be  of  any  service.  See 
there  ! " 

Enoch  looked  in  the  direction  indicated  by  his 
friend's  finger,  and  saw  that  the  coaster  had 
taken  advantage  of  a  favorable  tide  to  get  under 
way.  She  was  some  distance  from  the  pier 
already,  and  was  beginning  to  feel  the  influence 
of  the  breeze. 

"Cast  off  that  bow-line  and  shove  her  head 
out  while  I  run  up  the  jib."  exclaimed  Enoch. 
"  Work  lively,  now,  and  we  can  overhaul  her 
before  she  begins  to  gather  headway.  We  will 
show  ourselves  to  Don  if  he  is  there,  and  all  he's 
got  to  do  is  to  make  his  presence  known.  Hurry 
up,  for  when  she  gets  that  big  main-sail  up  and 
her  top-sails  set,  she'll  walk  away  from  us  hand 
over  fist." 

The  attention  of  the  two  boys  was  so  fully 
occupied  with  the  work  before  them,  that  they  did 
not  see  the  commotion  that  arose  on  board  the 
coaster  all  on  a  sudden,  nor  hear  the  words  of 
command  that  were  shouted  at  the  sailors  who 


322  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

ran  aft  to  man  the  yawl  which  had  not  yet  been 
hoisted  at  the  stern  davits.  But  when  Enoch 
took  the  helm,  he  saw  at  once  that  there  was 
something  unusual  going  on,  for  the  coaster  had 
"  spilled "  her  sails,  the  two  men  in  her  yawl 
were  rowing  about  first  in  one  direction  and 
then  in  another,  their  movements  being  directed 
by  a  third  who  was  leaning  over  the  bow  with  a 
lighted  lantern  in  his  hand. 

"  Go  for'ard,  quick,  and  listen  with  all  your 
ears,"  commanded  Enoch,  who  for  once  was  so 
excited  that  he  could  scarcely  speak  plainly. 
"  This  is  as  good  evidence  as  I  want  that  we  are 
on  the  right  track.  Don  was  on  that  coaster,  but 
he  is  in  the  water  now." 

"  There  comes  Barr,"  exclaimed  Jones,  who  just 
at  that  moment  caught  sight  of  a  canoe  which 
shot  out  from  the  shadow  of  the  pier  the  coaster 
had  left  a  short  time  before.  She  was  propelled 
by  two  men,  who  handled  their  paddles  as  if  they 
were  in  a  great  hurry. 

"  There's  more  evidence,"  said  Enoch.  "  Barr 
and  his  partner  saw  Don  when  he  went  over- 
board, and  they  are  going  out  to  help  hunt  him 
up.  That  proves  that  he  could  not  have  swum 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  323 

under  the  pier ;  if  he  had,  they  would  have  seen 
him.  Don  is  probahly  holding  a  straight  course 
for  the  middle  of  the  hay,  and  taking  his  chances 
on  being  picked  up.  Give  a  pull  at  the  sheets, 
fore  and  aft,  and  we'll  stand  farther  out." 

"  I  hope  he'll  not  sink  before  we  get  to  him," 
said  Jones,  as  he  hastened  to  obey  the  order. 

"  If  all  the  boys  say  about  him  is  true,  we  need 
have  no  fear  on  that  score,"  was  the  encouraging 
reply.  "  He  has  swum  the  whole  length  of  Dia- 
mond Lake  more  than  once,  and  that  must  be 
four  or  five  miles  long.  Listen  !  "  added  Enoch, 
in  a  suppressed  whisper.  "  Didn't  you  hear 
some  one  hailing  ?  " 

Jones  hastened  to  the  side  and  leaning  as  far 
over  the  water  as  he  could  without  losing  his 
balance,  strained  his  eyes  and  ears  in  vain.  The 
darkness  was  impenetrable,  and  no  sound  but  the 
washing  of  the  waves  against  the  side  of  the 
schooner  could  be  heard  in  the  direction  of  the 
Eastern  Shore.  The  surface  of  the  bay  was 
beginning  to  look  threatening.  The  tide  was 
running  out  against  the  wind,  and  the  white-caps 
were  making  their  appearance.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  water  would  be  so  rough  that  Barr's  canoe 


324  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

would  have  to  turn  back ;  then  what  would 
become  of  Don  Gordon  ?  Strong  swimmer  as  he 
was,  his  strength  would  soon  be  exhausted,  and 
he  would  go  down 

"  Firefly  ahoy  ! "  came  the  hail,  in  low  but 
distinct  tones  ;  whereupon  Enoch  and  Jones 
jumped  as  if  they  had  been  shot. 

"  Get  a  rope,  quick,"  commanded  the  former, 
"  and  stand  by  to  take  the  helm  in  case  I  have  to 
go  overboard  to  his  assistance.  Which  way  did 
that  hail  come  from  ?  Sing  out  again,  Don. 
Sing  out  loud,  so  that  I  can  locate  you,  and  never 
mind  those  men  in  the  yawl.  They  shan't  get 
their  hands  on  you  again." 

Don  heard  and  understood,  and  this  time 
Enoch  could  have  pointed  out  the  wave  from 
which  his  answer  came.  So  could  Jones,  who 
threw  the  rope  he  held  in  his  hand  with  such 
accuracy  that  the  end  of  it  fell  over  his  shoulder 
and  was  instantly  seized  by  the  swimmer,  who 
was  hauled  to  the  side  in  less  time  than  it 
takes  to  tell  it.  A  moment  later  he  was  standing 
on  the  deck.  He  had  relieved  himself  of  all 
superfluous  weight  by  discarding  his  coat,  vest  and 
boots  while  he  was  in  the  water,  and  he  was 


A    SWIM   FOR   LIBERTY.  '  325 

panting  a  little  from  the  violence  of  his  exertions  ; 
but  he  was  not  at  all  frightened. 

"  I  have  been  shanghaied,"  began  Don,  extend- 
ing his  hand  to  Enoch,  \vho  seized  it  and  worked 
it  up  and  down  like  a  pump-handle. 

"  No  use  to  waste  time  in  talking,"  interrupted 
the  latter.  "  You're  too  wet  and  this  wind  is 
too  cold.  Jones,  take  him  into  the  cabin  and 
give  him  something  dry  to  put  on.  You  will 
find  my  shooting  duds  in  the  starboard  locker. 
Now  for  it/'  he  added,  shutting  his  teeth  hard, 
and  glancing  over  his  shoulder  toward  the  yawl, 
which  was  coming  on  with  all  the  speed  that  the 
brawny  sailors  who  handled  the  oars  could 
induce  her  to  put  forth.  They  had  seen  Don 
pulled  out  of  the  water,  and  the  mate,  the  man 
who  stood  in  the  bow  holding  the  lantern,  sup- 
posed, of  course,  that  the  master  of  the  schooner 
would  stop  and  give  him  up  ;  but  when  he  saw 
Enoch  crowd  his  vessel  until  she  lay  over  on  her 
side  and  walked  away  from  the  yawl  as  if  the 
latter  had  been  standing  still,  the  mate's  eyes 
were  opened  to  the  fact  that  the  deserter  had 
been  rescued  by  friends  who  did  not  mean  to 
surrender  him  if  they  could  help  it. 


326  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

"  Hold  on  there  ! "  shouted  the  mate  of  the 
coaster,  shaking  his  fist  at  Enoch.  "  That's  my 
man,  and  I'm  going  to  have  him." 

"  Why  don't  you  come  and  get  him,  then  ? " 
asked  Enoch.  "  Your  best  plan  would  be  to 
mind  your  own  business.  If  you  come  back  to 
Havre  de  Grace  again  I  will  have  the  last  one  of 
you  arrested.  You,  Barr,"  he  shouted,  seeing 
that  the  duck-shooter  was  heading  his  canoe 
diagonally  across  the  Firefly's  fore-foot  in  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  board  her  as  she  passed, 
"keep  your  distance.  I  give  you  fair  warning 
that  I  won't  luff  by  so  much  as  a  hair's  breadth." 

By  this  Enoch  meant  that  he  would  not  change 
the  course  of  his  vessel,  and  that  if  Barr's  canoe 
got  in  his  way  he  would  run  over  her.  Barr 
stormed  and  threatened  at  a  furious  rate,  and  so 
did  the  mate ;  but  Enoch  was  too  busy  to  listen 
to  them.  His  first  care  must  be  to  put  a  safe 
distance  between  himself  and  the  coaster.  The 
latter  was  a  much  larger  and  swifter  craft  than 
his  own,  and  if  her  captain  took  it  into  his  head 
to  come  in  pursuit,  he  had  a  crew  at  his  back 
that  was  strong  enough  to  overpower  them  in 
spite  of  all  the  resistance  they  could  offer. 


A    SWIM    FOR    LIBERTY.  327 

Enoch's  best  plan  evidently  was  to  depend  upon 
strategy. 

"  Say,  Jones/'  he  called  out,  when  he  saw  the 
coaster's  yawl  and  Barr's  canoe  turn  about  and 
go  back  to  the  pier,  "  have  you  found  those  dry 
clothes  for  Don  ?  Then  come  up  and  take  in  the 
lights.  We've  got  to  go  it  blind  for  a  little  while." 

"  Now,  Enoch,"  said  Don,  "  don't  you  put 
yourself  or  your  craft  in  jeopardy  on  my  account. 
You  are  liable  to  be  run  down  if  you  don't  show 
lights." 

"  Who's  doing  this  ?  "  demanded  Enoch,  good- 
naturedly.  "  You  wear  the  brass  collar  at  the 
academy,  but  I  am  boss  here." 

Don  laughed  and  made  all  haste  to  get  into 
the  warm  suit  which  Jones  had  taken  from  the 
locker,  while  the  latter  went  on  deck  and  took 
in  the  lanterns.  It  was  well  that  Enoch  had 
taken  this  precaution,  for  after  the  mate  of  the 
coaster  had  returned  to  his  vessel  and  reported 
to  his  captain  that  the  deserter  had  been  rescued 
by  a  yacht  that  was  running  away  with  him,  the 
skipper  flew  into  a  rage  and  declared  that  he 
would  have  him  back  if  he  had  to  waste  a  week  in 
trying  to  find  him  ;  and  when  he  got  his  hands 


328  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

on  him  agcain  wouldn't  lie  haze  him,  though  ? 
He  would  make  him  know  his  place,  or  he  would 
make  him  jump  overboard  in  mid-ocean. 

As  the  coaster  was  between  the  schooner  and 
the  lights  on  the  wharf,  Enoch  could  distinctly 
see  every  move  she  made,  and  he  could  hardly 
refrain  from  giving  a  shout  of  derision  when  he 
saw  her  flatten  in  her  huge  mainsail  and  start 
in  pursuit  of  the  Firefly.  He  did  not  know  that 
the  duck-shooter  and  his  partner  were  on  board 
the  schooner,  acting  as  advisers  to  the  captain, 
but  he  suspected  it,  and  laid  his  plans  accord- 
ingly. When  Don  came  up  to  lend  a  hand  at 
the  work,  he  stood  off  on  the  other  tack,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  pursuing  coaster  was  left  out  of 
sight.  The  wind  was  fresh  now,  and  the  Firefly, 
careening  under  the  pressure  of  her  heavy  sails, 
bowled  ahead  through  darkness  which  seemed 
to  loom  up  before  her  like  a  solid  wall  of  ebony. 

"Now,  Enoch,  I  know  this  is  dangerous," 
protested  Don,  who  admired  Enoch's  reckless  way 
of  doing  things.  "  If  one  of  those  big  Baltimore 
steamers  should  happen  along  she  would  run  over 
us  and  never  know  it." 

"What  would  a  Baltimore  steamer  be  doing 


A  SWIM   FOE  LIBERTY.  329 

out  here,  I'd  like  to  know  ?  "  said  Enoch,  in  reply. 
"  Their  path  lies  over  there  toward  the  city,  and 
we  are  a  good  mile  outside  of  it.  We  have 
nothing  to  fear  except  from  little  coasters,  like 
the  one  that  thinks  she  is  following  in  our  wake, 
and  we  shall  see  their  lights  in  time  to  give 
them  a  wide  berth." 

"  Where's  Lester  ?  "  asked  Don,  suddenly.  "  I 
haven't  seen  him  since  I  came  aboard." 

"He  went  home  to-night,"  answered  Enoch. 
"  He  heard  some  news  he  didn't  like,  and  put  out 
for  Kochdale  at  very  short  notice." 

"  I  hope  that  none  of  his  folks  are  ill,"  said 
Don. 

"  We  didn't  hear  that  they  were.  Lester  was 
getting  tired  of  the  life  we  lead  here,  and  home- 
sick besides,  and  so  I  think  it  was  the  best  thing 
he  could  do.  Now,  Don,  where  have  you  been 
since  we  last  saw  you  ?  Egan  ran  up  in  his  cut- 
ter and  hailed  us  this  afternoon,  saying  that  you 
had  disappeared  in  some  mysterious  way,  and  ask- 
ing us  to  keep  our  weather  eyes  open  for  you  ;  but 
he  didn't  think  that  you  were  going  to  be  fished 
out  of  the  bay,  and  neither  did  we.  You  came 
off  that  coaster,  of  course,  but  where  did  you 


330  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

jump  from  ?     We  didn't  see  you  on  deck  when 
we  passed  her." 

"  I  wasn't  on  deck  ;  I  was  tied  up  in  the  cabin. 
But  the  minute  the  skipper  released  me,  which  he 
did  as  soon  as  the  schooner  began  moving  away 
from  the  wharf,  I  made  a  dive  for  one  of  the 
windows,"  said  Don,  who  then  went  on  to  give  a 
glowing  account  of  his  adventures,  which  we  will 
relate  in  our  own  way. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES. 

"TTTE  left  Don  and  his  party  grumbling  over 
*  *  the  ill  luck  that  had  attended  their  efforts 
to  entice  the  big  flock  of  ducks  they  found  off 
Powell's  Island  within  range  of  their  double- 
barrels  ;  and  Bogus,  ole  Eph's  stump-tailed  yel- 
low dog,  which  had  so  faithfully  performed  his 
allotted  task,  trying  to  make  them  understand 
that  it  was  through  no  fault  of  his  that  the  wild 
fowl  had  gone  off  without  giving  them  a  chance 
for  a  shot.  Egan  accused  his  friends  of  showing 
the  tops  of  their  hats  above  the  grass,  but  recalled 
the  words  when  he  discovered  the  Firefly  coming 
around  the  head  of  the  island.  Egan  was  not 
aware  that  her  crew  had  come  down  there  on 
purpose  to  keep  an  eye  on  him  and  his  party,  but 
such  we  know  to  be  the  fact. 

There  being  no  more  ducks  in  sight  for  Bogus 


332  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

to  try  his  arts  upon,  Egrin  proposed  that  they 
should  take  a  short  sail,  and  then  go  back  to 
Eph's  cabin  and  dino  upon  the  terrapins  which 
the  old  negro  had  been  instructed  to  have  ready 
for  them  ;  but  just  then  a  flock  of  shore  birds  flew 
over,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Hopkins,  who 
thought  a  few  willets  would  make  an  acceptable 
addition  to  their  dinner,  they  shouldered  their 
guns  and  set  out  in  pursuit  of  them.  It  was 
while  they  were  walking  along  the  beach  that 
they  found  Barr's  big  gun,  which  lay  at  the  foot 
of  a  tree,  covered  with  bushes  and  calamus  grass. 
In  the  effort  he  made  to  step  over  it,  Curtis  kicked 
away  some  of  the  grass,  thus  exposing  the  stock 
of  the  gun  to  his  astonished  gaze. 

"  What  in  the  name  of  all  that's  wonderful  is 
this  ? "  he  exclaimed,  backing  away  from  the 
weapon  as  if  he  were  afraid  of  it.  "  Why,  Egan, 
I  believe  it  is  one  of  those  big  guns  you  told  us 
about  last  night." 

It  did  not  take  Egan  long  to  kick  away  the  rest 
of  the  grass,  and  then  he  and  Curtis  got  under 
the  gun  and  raised  it  to  a  perpendicular,  so  that 
everybody  in  the  party  could  have  a  good  look  at 
it.  They  examined  it  with  the  liveliest  curiosity, 


LOST   IN    THE   MARSHES.  333 

walking  around  it  and  viewing  it  from  all  sides  ; 
and  there  was  the  crew  of  the  Firefly,  watching 
their  movements  through  a  spy-glass,  and  eager 
to  report  them  to  the  owner  of  the  gun,  who  was 
in  his  sink-box  a  few  miles  above. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it  ?  "  asked 
Bert,  after  he  and  the  rest  had  looked  the  pon- 
derous weapon  over  so  closely  that  they  were  sure 
they  would  know  a  big  gun  the  next  time  they 
saw  one. 

"  I'd  like  to  sink  it  so  deep  in  the  bay  that 
nobody  would  ever  find  it  again,"  replied  Egan. 
"  But  not  being  an  officer,  I  have  no  right~  to 
touch  it." 

"  Is  that  steamer  signaling  to  us  ?  "  asked  Don. 

Egan  looked  up  and  saw  the  Magpie  approach- 
ing. Near  the  pilot-house  stood  a  boy,  who  would 
flourish  his  handkerchief  in  the  air  for  a  minute 
or  two,  and  then  raise  a  pair  of  binoculars  to  his 
eyes  to  see  if  his  motions  had  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  boys  on  shore. 

"  Hop,  that's  Bob  Hart,"  said  he,  after  he  had 
taken  a  good  look  at  the  boy  ;  and  then  he  and 
Hopkins  took  off  their  hats  and  waved  them  over 
their  heads.  "  He's  a  Baltimore  lad,"  added  Egan, 


334  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

by  way  of  explanation,  "  and  his  father  is  captain 
of  that  boat." 

It  would  seem,  from  this,  that  Egan  did  not 
wave  his  hat  to  draw  the  Magpie's  attention  to 
Barr's  big  gun,  but  simply  to  return  the  salute 
that  had  been  given  him  by  his  friend,  Bob  Hart ; 
but  still  the  police-boat  came  in  and  took  charge 
of  the  gun,  because  Bob,  or  somebody  else,  told 
the  officer  in  command  what  it  was  that  Egan 
and  Curtis  were  holding  in  their  hands.  We 
may  add,  too,  that  Egan  did  not  say  one  word  to 
arouse  suspicion  against  Enoch.  The  latter  had 
done  that  long  ago,  by  allowing  himself  to  be  so 
often  seen  in  Barr's  company. 

After  the  big  gun  had  been  taken  on  board  the 
Magpie,  and  Enoch  had  gone  back  to  report  the 
matter  to  the  man  in  the  sink-boat,  Egan  and  his 
guests  resumed  their  search  for  the  shore  birds. 
They  found  them  at  last,  and  they  proved  so  tame 
that  Don  wouldn't  fire  at  them  at  all,  declaring 
that  he  would  just  as  soon  go  into  Mr.  Egan's 
barn-yard  and  shoot  chickens.  He  would  find 
quite  as  much  sport  in  it ;  but  Hopkins,  who 
wasn't  thinking  of  sport,  but  of  a  good  dinner, 
banged  away  as  often  as  the  opportunity  was  pre- 


LOST    IN    THE    MARSHES.  335 

sented,  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour  had  filled 
his  game-bag. 

When  Enoch  made  his  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
give  the  Sallie  up  to  the  mercy  of  the  elements, 
Egan  and  his  friends,  having  passed  an  hour  or  two 
very  pleasantly  in  the  parlor  with  music  and  social 
converse,  were  assembled  in  their  room,  listening 
to  the  roaring  of  the  wind  and  the  beating  of  the 
sleet  against  the  windows,  while  they  discussed 
various  plans  for  the  following  day.  The  report 
of  Sam's  musket  brought  them  to  their  feet  and 
sent  them  down  stairs  at  headlong  speed.  In  the 
yard  they  found  Mr.  Egan,  who  was  looking 
anxiously  around,  half  expecting  to  see  some  of 
his  buildings  in  flames. 

"  Barr  is  at  work  already,"  said  he,  as  the  boys 
came  out.  "  He  is  going  to  pay  you  off  for  med- 
dling with  that  big  gun  of  his." 

"  Well,  if  he  will  only  settle  with  me  and  let 
your  property  alone,  I  don't  care,"  replied  Gus. 
"  Sam  was  the  fellow  who  gave  the  alarm.  Let's 
go  down  and  see  what  he  shot  at." 

The  boys  were  much  relieved  to  find  that  Sam's 
vigilance  had  saved  the  cutter  from  harm,  but 
they  did  not  sleep  very  soundly  that  night.  The 


336  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

Sallie  was  the  first  thing  that  came  into  their 
minds  when  they  awoke  in  the  morning.  They 
went  aboard  of  her  as  soon  as  they  were  dressed, 
but  could  find  nothing  to  indicate  that  any  one 
had  been  near  her  during  the  night. 

"I  say,  Sam,"  shouted  Egan  to  the  sentinel, 
who  was  getting  ready  to  go  ashore  after  his 
breakfast,  "you  must  have  been  dreaming  last 
night." 

"Look  a  yer,  Marse  Gus,"  replied  the  negro, 
"  if  I  dream  dat  I  see  a  yarl  go  pas'  yer  las'  night 
with  three  men  in  yer,  de  dogs  done  dream  de 
same,  kase  dey  growl,  an'  dat's  what  make  me 
look  ober  de  rail — yes,  sah.  Somebody  was  da' 
suah,  kase  I  done  seed  'em." 

This  was  the  day  that  Enoch  and  his  party 
spent  at  the  duck-shooter's  cabin,  but  Egan  and 
his  party  devoted  it  to  glass-ball  shooting  in  the 
forenoon,  and  to  quail-shooting  in  the  afternoon. 
This  was  done  at  the  request  of  Walter  Curtis, 
who  had  developed  a  remarkable  fondness  for  quail 
on  toast.  The  next  day  was  to  be  given  up  to 
Hopkins,  who  was  eager  to  secure  a  white  swan, 
like  the  one  which  had  led  Egan  that  long  race  in 
his  cutter,  and  that  was  why  the  latter  suggested 


LOST   IN    THE   MARSHES.  337 

a  week's  encampment  on  Spesutia  Island.  It 
would  be  little  or  no  trouble  for  such  a  rifle-shot 
as  Curtis  to  bring  down  a  specimen  now,  Egan 
said,  but  if  they  waited  until  the  upper  end  of 
the  bay  and  its  estuaries  were  frozen  over,  and  the 
birds  driven  into  the  open  water,  it  would  be  next 
to  an  impossibility  to  get  a  shot  at  one.  Like  all 
the  wild  fowl  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  they  had  learned 
how  to  calculate  the  range  of  a  duck-gun,  and 
knew  enough  to  keep  just  beyond  reach  of  it. 
When  Enoch,  Jones,  and  Lester  sailed  by  on  their 
way  home  from  the  duck-shooter's  cabin,  Egan's 
party  was  getting  ready  to  start  for  the  island. 
If  Barr  had  stayed  at  home,  or  if  the  Sallie  had 
kept  away  from  Conesus  Creek,  Don  Gordon 
would  not  have  been  shanghaied  ;  but  Barr  was 
so  anxious  to  put  in  another  good  night's  work 
among  the  ducks  before  he  received  a  second  visit 
from  the  police,  and  so  very  much  afraid  that  the 
Magpie  might  intercept  him  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  the  creek,  that  he  thought  it  best  to  get 
as  close  to  his  shooting-ground  as  he  could  before 
dark.  The  boys  reached  the  creek  before  he  did, 
and  frightened  away  the  ducks.  Although  he  was 

at  least  three  miles  distant  when  it  happened, 
15 


338  THE    YOUNG    \VILD-FOWLERS. 

Barr  saw  the  flock  as  it  arose  from  the  water,  and 
the  way  he  stamped  about  the  deck  of  his  sloop, 
and  threatened  vengeance  upon  those  who  had 
spoiled  his  night's  work  for  him,  was  fearful. 
Half  an  hour  later  he  picked  up  Pete,  who,  now 
that  there  was  nothing  to  keep  him  longer  in  the 
creek,  had  started  for  home. 

"  Who  done  it  ?  "  demanded  Barr,  as  he  assisted 
his  partner  to  haul  his  canoe  aboard  the  sloop. 

"  Who  do  you  'spose  ?  "  growled  Pete,  in  reply. 
"  It  was  nobody  but  that  oneasy  Gus  Egan  and 
the  fellers  what's  stopping  at  his  house.  They 
tried  to  make  me  believe  that  they  didn't  go  for 
to  skeer  the  ducks,  but  that  they  was  after  some 
swans  they  had  seen  a  little  furder  up  the  bay." 

Barr  was  furious  when  he  learned  that  Egan 
had  been  prowling  around  again  just  at  the  wrong 
time,  and  without  knowing  what  he  was  going  to 
do  when  he  got  there,  he  filled  away  for  the  creek, 
declaring,  with  much  flourishing  of  his  fists,  that 
he  would  square  yards  with  Egan  before  he  saw 
the  sun  rise  again. 

About  the  time  Barr  left  his  cabin,  Egau  and 
his  party  were  running  into  trouble  without  know- 
ing it.  They  were  going  to  spend  a  week  in 


LOST   IN    THE   MARSHES.  339 

camp,  as  we  have  said,  their  first  object,  of  course, 
being  to  see  all  the  sport  they  could  ;  and  the 
second,  to  shoot  swans  enough  so  that  each  one 
of  Egan's  guests  could  take  a  specimen  or  two 
home  with  him.  The  cutter  had  not  been  under 
way  more  than  half  an  hour,  when  Egan,  whose 
eyes  were  everywhere,  suddenly  called  out : 

"  There's  a  whiteness  !  " 

"  What's  a  whiteness  ?  "  inquired  Curtis,  after 
he  had  looked  all  around  without  seeing  any- 
thing. 

"I  should  think  you  ought  to  know,"  replied 
Hopkins,  as  he  reached  for  the  binoculars,  which 
lay  on  the  cushions  near  him.  "Have  you  for- 
gotten that  once  upon  a  time  you  told  me  that  I 
was  not  much  of  a  sportsman,  because  I  spoke  of 
a  'flock'  of  quails,  when  I  should  have  said 
1  covey'?  I  have  since  learned  that  you  were 
wrong,  as  well  as  I.  The  word  'covey'  is  ap- 
plied only  to  partridges  ;  and  as  there  are  no 
partridges  in  this  country,  it  cannot  properly  be 
used." 

"  What  is  the  word,  then  ?  "  asked  Curtis. 

"  Bevy/'  answered  Hopkins. 

"  Now,  what's  the  use  of  splitting  hairs  ?  "  ex- 


340  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

claimed  Egan.  "You  seldom  hear  those  terms 
used,  even  by  our  best  educated  sportsmen." 

"  I  am  not  ignorant  of  that  fact ;  but  I  insist 
that  Curtis  shall  be  right  himself,  before  he  sets 
himself  up  for  a  teacher.  A  '  whiteness/  my 
dear  fellow,"  said  Hopkins,  blandly,  "  is  a  flock  of 
swans.  Just  cast  your  eye  about  two  points  off 
the -starboard  bow,  and  you  will  see  them." 

The  boys  looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and 
saw  a  large  flock  of  birds  about  two  or  three  miles 
away ;  and,  what  was  very  singular,  they  ap- 
peared to  be  floating  in  the  air,  a  few  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  not  in  the  water  it- 
self. The  clear,  pure  atmosphere  must  have 
served  as  a  magnifying-glass,  for  they  looked 
larger  than  the  huge  retriever  which  Egan  had 
brought  with  him. 

"  How  big  would  an  ostrich  look  at  that  dis- 
tance, and  under  the  same  conditions  ?  "  asked 
Bert,  after  they  had  all  taken  a  survey  of  the  flock 
through  the  binoculars. 

"As  big  as  an  elephant,"  answered  Hopkins. 
"Now,  the  next  thing  is  something  else.  How 
are  we  going  to  get  a  shot  at  them  ?  " 

"That's  the  hardest  part  of  it,"  replied  Egan. 


LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES.  341 

"  They  are  the  shyest  birds  in  the  world,  and  they 
can  tell  the  difference  between  a  rifle  and  a  gun- 
shot as  well  as  you  can  ;  at  least  that  is  what  you 
will  say  after  you  have  hunted  them  a  few  times. 
We  can't  get  within  range  of  them  with  a  boat — 
they  are  much  too  smart  to  allow  that — so  we 
will  hide  the  cutter  in  a  creek  I  know  of,  a  little 
distance  above  here,  and  take  to  the  marshes  on 
foot.  The  one  who  is  the  best  at  creeping 
through  cold  water  that  is  anywhere  from  six 
inches  to  two  feet  deep,  is  the  one  who  will  stand 
the  best  chance  of  getting  a  shot  at  them." 

It  was  while  he  was  trying  to  find  a  hiding- 
place  for  his  cutter  that  Egan,  to  his  no  small 
amazement,  ran  into  and  frightened  away  Barr's 
ducks.  We  say  he  ran  into  them,  and  that  is 
what  any  one  living  in  that  country  would  have 
said  ;  but  the  words  must  not  be  taken  literally. 
The  mouth  of  the  creek  was  in  reality  a  bay, 
about  two  miles  wide  and  half  as  deep,  and  the 
middle  of  this  bay  was  black  with  ducks.  With 
a  great  splashing  of  water  and  fluttering  of  wings 
they  took  flight  the  instant  the  Sallie  showed  her 
nose  around  the  point,  so  that  the  boys  did  not 
really  come  within  rifle-shot  of  them.  Egan  and 


342  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

his  companions  watched  them  as  they  winged 
their  way  toward  the  open  water,  and  finally  Don 
said  : 

"  What  a  chance  that  would  have  been  for  Barr 
to-night,  if  he  had  known  they  were  here  ! " 

'"  Don't  you  suppose  he  knew  it  ?  "  inquired 
Egan.  "  Of  course  he  did.  He  makes  it  his  busi- 
ness to  keep  posted  on  such  matters,  and  unless  I 
am  very  much  mistaken,  we  shall  hear  from  him 
or  his  partner  before  we  get  a  pop  at  those  swans. 
What  did  I  tell  you  ?  "  he  added,  an  hour  later, 
as  the  cutter  was  running  down  the  shore  of  the 
bay  toward  the  creek.  "  There's  Pete,  now." 

The  others  looked  in  the  direction  toward 
which  Egan  inclined  his  head,  and  saw  a  man 
pushing  a  canoe  out  of  the  marsh.  He  shook  his 
paddle  at  them  as  they  passed,  and  called  out,  in 
angry  tones  : 

"  Are  you  ever  going  to  learn  to  mind  your  own 
business,  Gus  Egan  ?  You  are  always  around 
when  you  are  not  wanted." 

"  That's  what  Barr  told  me  the  other  day,"  re- 
plied Egan,  pleasantly.  "  But  if  the  ducks  will 
persist  in  bunching  where  I  want  to  go,  I  don't 
see  how  I  can  keep  from  scaring  them  away." 


LOST    IN    THE    MARSHES.  343 

"  I  was  just  getting  ready  to  set  out  my  decoys, 
and  you  have  cheated  me  out  of  a  day's  wages," 
continued  Pete. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  that,  but  I  didn't  know  they 
were  here,"  said  Egan.  "  I  ran  in  to  get  a  shot  at 
some  swans  we  saw  up  the  bay.  That  story  about 
the  decoys  is  too  thin,  altogether,"  he  added,  in  a 
lower  tone.  "  Ducks  don't  decoy  when  they  are 
bunched,  but  only  when  they  are  flying.  If  we 
hadn't  run  in  here  Barr  would  have  come  up  to- 
night with  his  big  gun,  and  there  would  have  been 
another  slaughter  of  the  innocents." 

The  presence  of  the  duck-shooter  was  a  warning 
to  Egan  that  he  had  better  make  sure  work  in 
hiding  his  cutter,  or  else  leave  a  strong  force  to 
guard  her ;  and  as  he  did  not  want  to  forego  the 
pleasure  of  a  shot  at  the  swans  himself,  or  ask 
any  of  his  friends  to  do  it,  he  ran  as  far  into  the 
creek  as  the  wind  would  carry  him,  and  made  the 
Sallie  fast  to  a  couple  of  trees  that  grew  close  to 
the  water's  edge.  This  being  done,  the  canoe  was 
brought  into  requisition.  It  was  pushed  through 
the  heavy  grass  until  solid  ground  was  reached, 
and  then  the  young  wild-fowlers  began  their 
weary  work  of  stalking  the  swans.  After  Egan 


344  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

had  warned  them  that  they  would  surely  get  lost 
if  they  were  not  careful  to  keep  their  bearings, 
they  separated,  and  in  less  than  two  minutes  after 
leaving  the  canoe  they  were  out  of  sight  and  hear- 
ing of  one  another.  Each  one  decided  for  himself 
which  way  he  ought  to  go  to  find  the  game,  and 
made  the  best  speed  he  could  in  that  direction, 
regardless  of  any  obstacles  that  lay  in  his  path. 
Don  made  exceedingly  bad  work  of  it.  His 
knowledge  of  wood-craft  was  by  no  means  insig- 
nificant, but  he  had  never  before  traveled  through 
a  wilderness  of  reeds  and  grass  ;  and  as  there  was 
literally  nothing  by  which  he  could  direct  his 
course,  he  became  bewildered,  and,  like  every  one 
else  in  a  similar  predicament,  he  began  grumbling 
at  the  sun  for  being  in  the  wrong  quarter  of  the 
heavens. 

"  The  sun  was  just  about  at  meridian  when  we 
tied  up  in  the  creek,"  he  soliloquized,  "and  he 
ought,  by  rights,  to  be  setting  towards  the  west ; 
but  instead  of  that,  he  is  going  north.  I'll  not 
trust  him,  for  I  am  sure  that  Chesapeake  Bay  lies 
off  in'this  direction." 

So  saying,  he  turned  and  went  as  straight  away 
from  it  as  he  could  go.  He  plunged  headlong 


LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES.  345 

through  the  thick  grass  and  reeds,  paying  no  heed 
to  the  severe  scratches  his  hands  and  face  re- 
ceived, floundered  through  water  that  was  waist 
deep,  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour  drew  up  be- 
fore a  little  negro  cabin,  his  advent  being  wel- 
comed by  two  fierce  dogs,  which  would  certainly 
have  laid  hold  of  him  had  it  not  been  for  his 
double-barrel.  They  knew  there  was  death  in 
the  black  muzzles  he  turned  toward  them,  and 
so  kept  at  a  respectful  distance.  Their  angry 
barks  and  growls  brought  the  owner  of  the  cabin 
to  the  door.  He  was  a  thick-set,  ruffianly-look- 
ing man,  and  when  Don's  gaze  rested  on  him 
he  told  himself  that  it  was  a  lucky  thing  for 
him  that  he  had  not  come  in  there  without 
a  gun. 

*•  Hallo,  uncle,"  said  he,  cheerfully.  "  Where 
am  I  ?  " 

"  Whar  is  you  ?  "  repeated  the  negro,  in  sullen 
tones. 

"  Yes.  I  want  to  find  my  way  to  the  bay  ;  in 
which  direction  shall  I  go  ?  There's  a  dollar  for 
you.  Perhaps  that  will  loosen  your  tongue,"  said 
Don,  who  saw  that  the  negro  didn't  care  to  talk 
to  him.  He  did  not  even  thank  him  for  the  coin 


346  THE   YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

which  fell  at  his  feet ;  but  he  picked  it  up  and 
said,  as  he  pointed  to  a  well-beaten  path  that  led 
into  the  reeds  : 

"  Go  dat  a  way,  an'  hit'll  take  you  plumb  to  de 
bay.-  Don't  turn  to  de  right  han'  nor  to  de  lef ' , 
kase  if  you  do,  you'll  get  los'  suah.  An'  don't 
come  hyar  no  mo',  nudder." 

"  I  won't,"  replied  Don.  "  That  man  has  been 
up  to  something,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  shoul- 
dered his  gun  and  hurried  along  the  path.  "  If 
he  is  hiding  there  to  escape  arrest,  I  am  glad  that 
I  am  in  no  danger  of  being  called  upon  to  serve 
a  warrant  on  him,  for  he  looks  to  me  like  a  bad 
darkey." 

While  Don  was  trying  hard  to  convince  himself 
that  the  path  he  was  following  led  toward  the  bay, 
and  not  directly  away  from  it,  he  was  hurrying 
forward  at  his  best  pace.  The  path  was  very 
crooked,  for  it  kept  to  the  high  ground  all  the 
way,  and  the  turns  in  it  were  many  and  abrupt. 
As  he  ran  around  one  of  these  turns,  he  came  face 
to  face  with  a  couple  of  men  who  were  making 
equally  good  time  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  that 
is.  they  were  going  toward  the  cabin  Don  had  just 
left.  He  was  so  close  upon  them  that  if  they  had 


LOST   IN    THE   MARSHES.  347 

not  stopped  on  the  instant,  as  he  did,  he  and  the 
foremost  man  would  have  run  against  each  other. 
The  surprise  on  both  sides  was  great.  One  of  the 
men  turned  part  way  around,  as  if  he  had  a  good 
mind  to  take  to  his  heels,  while  the  other,  quickly 
recovering  himself,  laid  hold  of  Don's  gun  with 
both  hands.  Then  the  boy  began  to  believe  that 
he  was  going  to  see  trouble.  He  took  a  second 
look  at  the  repulsive  face  that  was  scarcely  more 
than  a  foot  away  from  his  own,  and  recognized 
in  it  the  features  of  Barr,  the  professional  big- 
gunner. 

Did  the  latter  recognize  him  also,  and  did  he 
mean  to  punish  him  for  being  on  board  the  cutter 
when  she  frightened  away  the  ducks  ? 

"  Look  here,"  said  Don,  without  the  least 
tremor  in  his  voice,  "  I'll  trouble  you  to  let  go 
my  gun.  What  do  you  intend  to  do  ?  I  know 
who  you  are,  and " 

"  And  I  know  who  you  are,  too,"  interrupted 
Barr  ;  and  there  was  something  in  the  way  he 
uttered  the  words  which  made  Don  see  very 
plainly  that  he  might  as  well  prepare  for  the 
worst.  "  You  are  one  of  the  chaps  who  runs 
around  with  Gus  Egan,  taking  the  bread  out  of 


348  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

poor  men's  mouths — dog-gone  you ;  that's  who 
you  be.  Your  name's  Gordon,  ain't  it  ?  " 

"What's  that  to  you?"  replied  Don.  "Let 
go  my  gun  !  " 

"  Yes,  I  reckon  you're  the  feller  I've  been 
looking  for,"  continued  Barr,  "and  I'm  going 
to  put  you  where  you  won't  never  bother  hard- 
working men  who  are  trying  to  make  an  honest 
living." 

The  duck-shooter  had  been  a  little  uncertain  as 
to  the  boy's  identity,  but  the  way  Don  answered 
his  question,  set  all  his  fears  at  rest.  When  he 
seized  the  gun  he  did  not  know  who  it  was  that 
was  confronting  him.  Like  all  guilty  men,  he 
was  easily  startled,  and  Don's  sudden  and  wholly 
unexpected  appearance  frightened  him  almost  out 
of  his  wits  ;  but  when  he  found  that  his  path  had 
been  blocked  by  a  boy  and  not  by  a  police-officer, 
his  courage  came  back  to  him,  and  he  was  about 
to  let  go  his  hold  upon  the  double-barrel,  when 
Lester  Brigham's  hasty  words  came  into  his  mind. 
When  he  told  Don  that  he  was  about  to  put  him 
where  he  would  never  again  trouble  hard-working 
men  who  were  trying  to  make  an  honest  living,  he 
made  a  sudden  effort  to  twist  the  gun  out  of  his 


LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES.  349 

grasp  ;  but,  to  his  intense  amazement,  he  found 
himself  jerked  clear  off  the  ground  and  thrown 
headlong  into  the  reeds  and  out  of  the  path, 
where  the  water  was  two  feet  deep.  Turning  the 
butt  of  his  weapon  to  the  front,  Don  rushed  upon 
Pete,  intending  to  knock  him  out  of  his  way  and 
take  to  his  heels  ;  but  that  move  was  fatal  to 
him.  Pete  was  quicker  than  Barr,  and  besides, 
he  was  on  the  alert.  Like  a  flash  he  dodged  the 
vicious  blow  which  Don  aimed  at  his  face,  and 
springing  up  again  under  his  guard,  struck  him, 
with  stunning  force,  on  the  head,  felling  him  to 
the  ground.  His  gun  dropped  from  his  hands, 
and  he  lay  so  still  where  he  had  fallen  that  Barr, 
who  was  in  a  towering  rage  when  he  crawled  out 
of  the  water,  grew  frightened  while  he  looked 
at  him. 

"  I'll  jest  tell  you  what's  a  fact,  Pete,"  said  he. 
"  You  whacked  him  too  hard." 

"  No,  I  reckon  not,"  answered  the  other. 
"  Ketch  hold  of  him,  and  well  souse  him  in 
the  water  and  bring  him  to  life  again.  Them 
thousand  dollars  are  our'n." 

Barr  was  a  coward  as  well  as  a  professional  law- 
breaker, and  if  he  had  been  alone  he  would  have 


350  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

fled  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  leaving  Don  to  recover 
or  to  remain  insensible,  as  the  fates  might  decree  ; 
but  Peter  wasn't  that  sort.  Barr  had  told  him 
of  the  money  that  Lester  Brigham  was  willing  to 
give  to  any  one  who  would  send  Don  so  far  out  of 
the  country  that  he  would  never  come  back  again  ; 
and  Pete  didn't  see  why  they  should  not  earn  it, 
now  that  it  was  in  their  power  to  do  so.  In 
accordance  with  his  suggestion,  Barr  took  hold 
of  one  foot  while  Pete  held  fast  to  the  other,  and 
by  their  united  efforts,  Don  was  pushed  out  of 
the  path  and  churned  up  and  down  in  the  cold 
water,  until  he  began  to  show  signs  of  returning 
consciousness.  Then  he  was  hauled  up  again, 
feet  first,  Pete  threw  him  over  his  shoulder  as  if 
he  had  been  an  infant,  and  the  worthy  pair  re- 
traced their  steps  toward  the  beach. 

Don  had  a  dim  idea  of  what  was  going  on,  but 
he  was  powerless  to  resist.  His  head  felt  as  if  it 
were  about  to  burst,  his  strength  was  all  gone ; 
but  in  courage  he  was  as  undaunted  as  ever.  He 
knew  when  he  was  put  into  Barr's  canoe  and 
taken  off  to  the  sloop,  which  lay  at  anchor  a  short 
distance  from  the  shore  ;  and  he  heard,  as  in  a 
dream,  his  abductors  talk  about  shipping  him  off 


LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES.  351 

for  Cuba  on  a  coaster  that  was  to  sail  from  Havre 
de  Grace  that  night ;  but  for  reasons  of  their  own, 
which  Don  conld  not  understand,  owing  to  the 
fuddled  state  of  his  brain,  they  were  going  to 
make  Brigham  believe  that  they  had  sent  him 
off  to  China.  This  gave  the  prisoner  a  vague  idea 
that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  plot,  but  he  did  not 
try  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  it.  On  the  contrary, 
he  fell  asleep  while  his  captors  were  lifting  him 
over  the  side  of  the  sloop. 

When  Don  awoke  it  was  dark,  and  he  was  lying 
on  a  rough  bunk  in  the  sloop's  cabin.  Barr  was 
standing  at  the  top  of  the  companion-ladder  in 
such  a  position  that  he  could  keep  an  eye  on  Don, 
and  at  the  same  time  listen  to  the  conversation 
that  was  carried  on  between  Pete  and  a  man 
whom  Don  could  not  see. 

"It's  a  business  that  I  don't  like  to  meddle 
with,"  Don  heard  the  invisible  man  say. 

"'Tain't  no  wuss  than  other  things  that  you've 
done  more'n  a  hundred  times,"  answered  Pete. 
"  He's  a  teetotal  stranger  in  these  parts,  and  not 
one  of  his  friends  knows  where  he  is.  You  can 
sign  the  articles  for  him,  and  sw'ar  that  he  was 
shipped  all  squ'ar  and  reg'lar,  can't  you  ?  If  you 


352  THE    YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

don't  want  to  bring  him  back  from  Havanny,  why, 
you  needn't  to." 

"  But  my  bunks  in  the  forecastle  are  all  full," 
said  the  voice.  "  Where  can  I  stow  him  ?  " 

"  Put  him  in  the  cabin  till  you  call  him  up  for 
duty,  and  arterwards  let  him  stow  himself  o' 
nights,"  said  Pete.  "If  you  don't  do  it,  who'll 
ketch  your  cigars  for  this  trip  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  do  it,"  replied 
the  voice,  which  belonged  to  the  captain  of  a 
coaster,  who  now  and  then  turned  a  penny  in  the 
line  of  smuggling.  "  Bring  him  aboard." 

Pete  at  once  came  down  the  ladder,  and  Don, 
who,  during  his  sleep,  had  been  bound  so  tightly 
with  ropes  that  he  could  not  move  hand  or  foot, 
was  carried  to  the  deck  and  hoisted  aboard  the 
coaster.  The  mate,  who  came  to  the  side  at  that 
moment,  was  informed,  in  response  to  his  inquiries, 
that  Don  was  a  sailor-man,  who  had  signed  the 
articles  all  right  and  square,  but  had  made  up  his 
mind,  at  the  last  moment,  that  he  didn't  want  to 
go  to  Havana. 

"  Tried  to  desert,  did  he  ?  "  said  the  mate,  with 
a  grim  smile.  "I'll  make  him  wish  he  hadn't 
before  this  run  is  over.  You  didn't  knock  him 


LOST   IN   THE   MARSHES.  353 

dead,  did  you  ?     I  see  he's  got  a  fearful  bump 
over  his  eye." 

Pete  hastened  to  assure  the  mate  that  Don 
would  be  all  right  by  the  time  his  services  were 
required  on  deck,  and  then  he  and  Barr  carried 
him  into  the  cabin  and  tumbled  him  into  one  of 
the  bunks. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

CONCLUSION. 

TOON'S  senses  were  by  this  time  pretty  well 
restored,  and  he  was  able  to  think  the 
situation  over  calmly.  He  had  read  enough  to 
know  that  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  shipping 
agents,  when  seamen  are  scarce,  to  kidnap  lands- 
men, and  thrust  them  into  a  ship's  forecastle  to 
do  duty  as  sailors  ;  and  he  knew,  too,  that  these 
"  shanghaied  men,"  as  they  are  called,  are  some- 
times absent  for  so  long  a  period  that  their 
friends  on  shore  mourn  them  as  dead.  But  Don 
was  well  aware  that  he  had  not  been  kidnapped 
because  sailors  were  scarce.  He  had  heard  Lester 
Brigham's  name  mentioned  in  connection  with 
some  money  that  was  to  be  paid  to  Barr,  and  he 
knew  whom  he  had  to  thank  for  the  trouble  he 
had  got  info. 

"  But  what  have   I   done   to   Lester   that  he 


CONCLUSION.  355 

should  take  this  way  of  being  revenged  upon 
me  ? ''  Don  asked  himself,  in  deep  perplexity. 
"  I  am  sure  that  I  have  always  treated  him  as 
well  as  he  would  let  me,  and  it  is  not  my  fault 
that  I  can't  be  friends  with  him.  But  if  he 
thinks  he  has  seen  the  last  of  me,  he  will  find 
that  he  is  very  much  mistaken.  I  have  been  in 
many  a  tight  place,  first  and  last,  but  somehow 
I  generally  manage  to  get  out  not  very  much 
the  worse  for  my  experience." 

But  his  prospects  for  getting  out  of  this  scrape 
were  not  very  bright,  as  Don  found  when  he 
came  to  make  the  attempt  to  free  himself  from 
his  bonds.  Pete  and  Barr  had  done  their  work 
well,  and  with  all  his  tugging  and  pulling  the 
prisoner  could  not  loosen  the  ropes  in  the  least. 
After  a  few  vain  efforts  he  ceased  his  exertions, 
and  waited  with  as  much  patience  as  he  could  to 
see  what  was  going  to  happen.  He  could  hear 
the  footsteps  of  the  crew  above  his  head  and  the 
bumping  of  the  bales  and  boxes  as  they  were 
lowered  into  the  hold,  and  he  knew  when  the 
order  was  given  to  get  the  schooner  under  way. 
Then  Don  began  to  nerve  himself  for  a  desper- 
ate attempt  at  escape.  If  the  captain  ordered 


356  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS.  ' 

him  on  deck  before  the  shores  of  Maryland  were 
out  of  sight,  he  would  do  it  at  the  risk  of  losing 
one  of  his  crew.  As  it  happened,  he  did  do  it 
before  his  vessel  had  left  the  pier  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  behind.  By  the  time  he  came  down  the  ladder 
to  release  his  captive,  the  latter  had  made  up 
his  mind  just  how  to  act. 

"Well,  my  hearty/'  said  the  skipper,  who 
looked  enough  like  Barr  to  be  his  brother,  "  are 
you  ready  to  turn  to  now  ?  " 

"  Ay  ay,  sir,"  replied  Don. 

"  I  suppose  you  don't  remember  of  shipping 
aboard  my  vessel  and  signing  the  articles,  do 
you  ?  "  continued  the  captain,  who  was  surprised 
at  Don's  prompt  and  sailor-like  answer.  He  had 
looked  for  a  storm  of  threats  and  protests,  but 
he  was  not  prepared  for  this  ready  surrender  on 
the  part  of  the  shanghaied  boy.  It  had  just  the 
effect  upon  him  that  Don  intended  it  should 
have.  It  threw  him  off  his  guard,  and  rendered 
it  comparatively  easy  for  him  to  carry  out  the 
plans  he  had  formed. 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't  remember  that  I  have  ever 
been  aboard  this  craft  before,"  said  Don. 

"  I  can  show  you  your  name  on  the  articles, 


CONCLUSION.  357 

all  fair  and  ship-shape,  if  you  want  to  see  it," 
remarked  the  skipper,  as  he  proceeded  to  untie 
the  ropes  with  which  Don  was  confined.  "  What 
have  you  done  with  the  advance  I  paid  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir." 

"Of  course  you  don't.  The  next  time  you  get 
a  few  dollars  in  your  pockets  for  ballast,  keep  a 
clear  head  on  your  shoulders  by  steering  wide  of 
grog-shops.  Now,  then,  tumble  up  and  turn  to. 
Go  for'ard  and — — " 

The  captain  suddenly  paused,  for  he  was  talk- 
ing to  the  empty  air.  He  had  unwittingly 
allowed  Don,  who  was  stretching  his  arms  and 
legs  to  limber  up  his  muscles,  to  get  between 
him  and  the  open  window  in  the  stern,  and  the 
last  the  captain  saw  of  him,  he  was  sailing 
through  that  window  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 
He  heard  a  loud  splash,  and  by  the  time  he  could 
get  to  the  stern  and  look  out,  there  was  nothing 
but  a  bubble  or  two  on  the  surface  of  the  water  to 
show  where  Don  had  disappeared. 

Among  the  many  ways  that  the  academy  boys 
had  of  amusing  themselves,  and  of  which  we 
never  before  had  occasion  to  speak,  were  private 
theatricals,  which  were  given  in  the  presence  of 


358  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

the  faculty  and  all  the  students.  During  the  last 
term  the  members  of  the  first  class  had  produced 
the  pantomime  called  "  The  Golden  Egg,"  with 
Don  Gordon,  who  was  by  long  odds  the  best 
gymnast  in  school,  as  the  Harlequin.  If  you 
have  ever  seen  this  pantomime  played,  you  will 
remember  that  one  of  the  things  the  Harlequin 
has  to  do  is  to  dive  through  a  window,  placed 
about  the  height  of  his  shoulders  from  the  floor  of 
the  stage,  his  fall  being  broken  by  a  blanket 
held  by  ten  or  a  dozen  people  on  the  other  side 
of  the  scenes.  The  ease  and  grace  with  which 
Don  performed  this  difficult  feat  always  called 
forth  rounds  of  applause  from  the  students,  who 
would  have  been  astonished  if  any  one  hud  told 
them  that  the  Harlequin's  agility  would  one  day 
be  of  real  service  to  him.  The  assiduous  practice 
which  had  enabled  him  to  perform  his  part  so 
creditably  on  the  academy  stage,  stood  him  in 
hand  now.  While  the  captain  of  the  coaster  was 
talking  to  him,  Don  bounded  from  the  floor  like 
a  rubber  ball,  went  through  that  window  without 
ever  touching  the  sides  of  it,  and  disappeared  in 
the  water  under  the  stern. 

Knowing  that  instant  pursuit  would  be  made, 


CONCLUSION.  359 

the  boy  wasted  no  time  in  trying  to  hide.  He 
believed  that  the  very  first  place  the  captain 
would  look  for  him  would  be  under  the  pier,  so 
he  kept  away  from  it,  swimming  under  water  as 
long  as  he  could  hold  his  breath,  and  striking  out 
for  the  middle  of  the  bay  the  instant  he  arose  to 
the  surface.  As  soon  as  he  thought  it  safe  to 
do  so,  he  stopped  long  enough  to  pull  off  some 
of  his  clothing,  and  after  that  he  made  better 
headway.  He  knew  when  the  sailors  tumbled 
into  the  yawl,  and  he  saw  Pete  and  Barr  when 
they  pushed  their  canoe  out  from  the  shadow  of 
the  pier  and  joined  in  the  pursuit.  When  he 
caught  sight  of  the  Firefly  bearing  down  upon 
him,  he  felt  a  thrill  of  exultation.  He  had  never 
doubted  that  he  should  escape  if  he  got  a  fair 
chance  to  make  the  attempt,  and  now  he  was 
positive  that  that  coaster  would  not  take  him  to 
Cuba.  He  recognized  the  schooner,  and  knew 
that  if  he  could  make  Enoch  hear  him,  his  escape 
was  assured.  Enoch  had  never  been  a  friend 
of  his,  but  Don  knew  that  in  a  case  like  this  he 
would  fight  for  him  as  long  as  he  had  strength 
enough  to  stand  on  his  feet.  By  doing  some  of 
his  best  swimming  he  succeeded  in  crossing  the 


360  THE    YOUXG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

schooner's  bows,  and  then  he  hailed  her  in  tones 
just  loud  enough  to  reach  the  ears  of  the  boys  he 
saw  on  her  deck,  but  not  loud  enough  to  show  his 
pursuers  where  he  was.  The  second  hail  pointed 
out  his  position,  and  brought  him  the  rope  by 
which  he  was  hauled  on  board  the  Firefly. 

This  was  the  substance  of  the  story  that  Don 
told  Jones  and  Enoch  as  he  sat  in  the  cock-pit, 
while  the  latter  was  steering  his  vessel  off  through 
the  dark  to  get  away  from  the  coaster.  The  only 
portions  of  it  he  omitted  were  those  that  related 
to  Lester  Brigham's  complicity  in  his  abduction. 
He  thought  his  rescuers  knew  nothing  about  it, 
and  he  did  not  mean  that  they  should  hear  of  it 
from  him.  Bert  was  the  only  one  he  would  ever 
take  into  his  confidence.  There  were  no  secrets 
between  him  and  Bert  now. 

"You  have  had  a  time  of  it,  that's  a  fact," 
said  Enoch,  when  Don  paused.  "I  have  often 
heard  of  men  being  shanghaied  and  made  to  do 
duty  as  foremast  hands,  but  this  is  the  first 
instance  of  the  kind  that  ever  came  under  my 
personal  observation.  Your  Harlequin  business 
came  in  good  play,  didn't  it?" 

"  Who  is  it  that  says  that  every  bit  of  knowl- 


CONCLUSION.  361 

edge  we  possess  will  be  of  use  to  us  some  day,  if 
we  only  wait  long  enough  ?  "  said  Don,  in  reply. 
"I  know  that  little  things  I  have  picked  up  at 
odd  times,  have  often  come  handy  to  me." 

"  If  I  were  in  your  place,  I  would  make  that 
captain  smart  for  this  night's  work,"  Jones  re- 
marked. 

It  was  right  on  the  point  of  Don's  tongue  to 
answer  that  he  couldn't  do  it  without  making 
others  smart  also ;  but  he  caught  his  breath  in 
time,  and  said  : 

"  It  would  be  too  much  bother.  By  the  time 
he  gets  back,  I  hope  to  be  in  Mississippi ;  and  if  I 
should  have  him  arrested,  I  should  have  to  come 
all  the  way  to  Maryland  to  testify  against  him. 
By  the  way,  what  did  Pete  mean,  when  he  said 
that  if  the  captain  didn't  take  me,  there  would 
be  no  one  to  pick  up  his  cigars  when  he  re- 
turned ?  " 

"  Aha  ! "  exclaimed  Enoch.  "  So  Barr  is  in 
that  business,  is  he  ?  I'll  tell  you  what  he  meant : 
Barr's  family  and  Pete's  live  in  Havre  de  Grace, 
but  the  men  themselves  spend  the  most  of  their 
time  in  a  little  shanty  down  here  on  the  beach. 
When  that  schooner  returns  from  Cuba,  she  will 
16 


362  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

make  it  a  point  to  pass  that  shanty  in  the  night, 
even  if  she  has  to  lie  over  somewhere,  in  order  to 
do  it.  When  she  goes  by,  the  captain  will  throw 
overboard  a  few  thousand  cigars,  done  up  in 
water-proof  packages,  and  Ban*  and  his  partner 
will  take  charge  of  them  until  the  skipper  sees  a 
chance  to  sell  them  without  paying  the  duty/' 

"Oh,  he's  a  smuggler  in  a  small  way,  is  he ? 
Well,  who  was  that  darkey  whose  dogs  were  so 
determined  to  make  a  meal  of  me  ?  " 

"  He's  a  petty  thief — a  robber  of  hen-roosts  and 
smoke-houses,  and  there  are  those  who  believe 
that  he  has  been  guilty  of  worse  things  than  that. 
But  if  he  found  your  gun  he  will  give  it  up.  He 
wouldn't  dare  keep  it." 

Don  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  when  he  heard 
this.  He  had  been  mourning  over  the  loss  of  the 
weapon,  ever  since  he  came  to  his  senses.  He 
would  not  have  parted  with  it  for  many  times  its 
value,  for  he  was  too  fond  of  the  father  who  gave 
it  to  him. 

When  Enoch  had  run  so  for  up  the  bay  that  he 
thought  there  was  no  more  danger  to  be  appre- 
hended from  the  coaster,  he  came  about  and  laid  a 
course  for  Mr.  Egan's  house,  off  which  he  arrived 


CONCLUSION.  363 

just  as  the  first  gray  streaks  of  dawn  were  seen  in 
the  east.  Early  as  it  was,  Egan  and  the  rest  were 
astir.  They  had  passed  a  sleepless  night,  and 
were  making  ready  to  start  out  in  the  Sallie  to 
resume  their  search  for  Don  Gordon.  The  actions 
of  the  Firefly,  which  came  toward  her  with  all 
sails  set  as  if  she  meant  to  run  the  cutter  down, 
attracted  their  attention,  and  Egan,  with  some 
nervousness  in  his  manner,  turned  his  glass  upon 
her.  He  held  it  to  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  and 
then  threw  his  hat  up  toward  the  cross-trees  and 
uttered  a  deafening  whoop. 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  that  if  Enoch  found  him 
he  would  stay  by  him  ?  "  he  shouted,  gleefully. 
"Don  has  certainly  been  somewhere,  for  he  has 
Enoch's  coat  and  hat  on." 

The  glass  was  passed  rapidly  from  hand  to  hand, 
and  the  rescued  boy,  after  returning  Egan's  wel- 
coming yell  with  interest,  stood  with  his  hat  by 
his  side,  striking  what  Curtis  called  "stunning 
attitudes,"  so  that  all  his  friends  had  a  different 
view  of  him.  His  long  swim  had  not  washed  any 
of  his  love  of  fun  out  of  him. 

As  the  Firefly  drew  nearer  she  began  hauling 
down  her  sails,  one  after  the  other,  and  Hopkins 


364  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

caught  the  rope  that  Jones  threw  to  the  Sallie. 
Long  before  any  of  the  lookers-on  thought  that 
the  little  vessels  were  within  jumping  distance 
of  each  other,  Don  cleared  the  gap  between 
them  by  a  tremendous  leap,  and  landed  in  Bert's 
arms. 

"Enoch,  we  shall  never  forget  you  for  this," 
said  Egan,  who  knew  instinctively  that  Don  had 
something  startling  to  tell. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  replied  Enoch,  who, 
nevertheless,  was  highly  delighted  over  what  he 
had  done.  The  boy  he  had  befriended  was  able 
to  surround  him  and  Jones  with  good  influences, 
and  make  it  comparatively  easy  for  them  to  hold 
to  the  resolutions  of  amendment  they  had  made. 
"  I  guess  Don  would  have  done  as  much  for  us  if 
he  had  been  in  our  place  and  we  in  his.  Cast  off 
that  line,  please." 

"  What  for  ?  "  demanded  Egan. 

"  We  had  better  be  getting  along  toward  home," 
replied  Enoch.  "We've  been  out  all  night,  and 
as  the  breeze  has  been  rather  fresh,  the  folks  may 
be  worrying  about  us.  Besides  we  haven't  had 
any  breakfast  yet." 

"Not  much  you  won't  go  home  until  we  are 


CONCLUSION.  365 

done  with  you,"  said  Egan.  "  The  fresh  breeze 
will  not  alarm  your  people,  because  they  know 
that  you  are  too  good  a  sailor  to  get  into  trouble 
with  a  cap-full  of  wind.  As  to  breakfast,  we 
haven't  had  any,  either.  We  brought  it  aboard, 
intending  to  eat  it  while  we  were  looking  for 
Don.  Come  over  and  take  a  bite  with  us,  while 
we  listen  to  what  Don  has  to  say  for  himself." 

As  much  as  Enoch  and  Jones  desired  to  be  re- 
ceived as  friends  by  the  cutter's  crew,  they  would 
have  been  glad  to  postpone  all  intimacy  with  them 
for  a  day  or  two,  at  least.  The  fact  was,  they 
were  ashamed  of  themselves  ;  but  they  didn't  see 
how  they  could  refuse  to  accept  Egan's  invitation. 
Accordingly  a  rope-fender  was  dropped  over  the 
Firefly's  rail  to  keep  the  little  vessels  from  chafing 
each  other  as  they  bobbed  up  and  down  on  the 
waves,  and  Jones  and  Enoch  clambered  over  into 
the  cutter's  cock-pit. 

"  Don  tells  us  that  Brigham  has  gone  home," 
said  Egan,  as  he  passed  a  well-filled  plate  to  each 
of  his  new  guests.  "  What  started  him  off  in  so 
great  a  hurry  ?  " 

Enoch  repeated  his  stereotyped  story  about 
Lester  having  heard  bad  news  and  being  home- 


366  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

sick  and  all  that,  and  there  was  not  the  least  sign 
on  Don  Gordon's  face  to  indicate  that  he  knew 
better.  He  admired  Enoch  for  his  loyalty  to  his 
friend,  and  Enoch  and  his  companion  admired  the 
cutter's  crew  for  the  very  temperate  language  they 
used  when  speaking  of  the  absent  boy.  Every  one 
of  them,  except  Bert,  had  seen  the  time  when  they 
would  most  gladly  have  improved  an  opportunity 
to  punch  his  head,  but  they  had  nothing  but  kind 
words  for  him  behind  his  back.  Enoch  told  him- 
self that  the  good-will  of  such  fellows  was  worth 
working  for. 

The  story  to  which  the  boys  listened  while  they 
were  disposing  of  the  good  things  Egan's  mother 
had  put  up  for  them,  was  the  same  in  substance 
as  the  one  we  have  already  related,  all  reference 
to  Lester  Brigham  and  his  responsibility  in  the 
matter,  being  omitted.  The  cutter's  crew  were 
mad  enough  to  fight  when  Don  pushed  up  his  hat 
and  showed  them  the  lump  on  his  forehead  which 
had  been  raised  there  by  Pete's  hard  fist,  and  even 
Bert  bristled  up  like  a  bantam  on  the  war-path. 
The  surest  way  to  make  him  angry  was  to  do 
something  to  Don.  They  all  agreed  that  there 
could  be  nothing  done  about  the  matter  unless 


CONCLUSION.  367 

Don  were  willing  to  stay  and  prosecute  every  one 
who  had  a  hand  in  kidnapping  him ;  but  Don 
couldn't  do  that  without  bringing  Lester  into 
trouble,  and  all  he  had  to  say  about  it  was,  that 
he  was  satisfied  to  get  off  without  going  to  Cuba. 
He  was  among  friends  again,  and  that  was  all 
he  cared  for.  Pete  hadn't  hurt  him  any  to 
speak  of.  He  was  sorry  he  had  lost  his  gun,  but 
perhaps 

"  But  perhaps  you  haven't  lost  it,"  said  Egan, 
finishing  the  sentence  for  him.  "  In  fact,  I  know 
you  haven't.  We  found  it  this  morning  leaning 
against  the  door  of  the  boat-house,  where  that 
chicken- thief  left  it  last  night.  Whether  or  not 
he  knew  what  happened  to  you,  I  can't  say  ;  but 
I  do  know  that  when  he  discovered  the  gun,  he 
made  all  haste  to  return  it,  for  fear  that  we 
might  look  for  it  and  so  run  on  to  his  hiding- 
place." 

"  That's  the  best  piece  of  news  I  have  heard  in 
a  long  time,"  exclaimed  Don.  "  But  how  does  it 
come  that  that  darkey  knew  where  to  leave  it  ? 
He  never  saw  me  before." 

"  Don't  you  believe  it.  He  knows  everything 
that  goes  on  around  here  as  well  as  Barr  does. 


368  THE   YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS. 

Now,  boys,"  said  the  ex-sergeant,  "I  should  like 
to  ask  you  a  few  questions  which  I  would  not 
have  asked  you  under  any  consideration  while  I 
was  a  member  of  the  academy  ;  but  don't  answer 
them  unless  you  can  do  so  without  violating  any- 
body's confidence.  How  did  you  learn  about  our 
plans  ?  You  must  have  known  all  about  them, 
or  you  could  not  have  managed  matters  with  so 
much  skill." 

"Jones  and  I  were  hidden  in  the  recitation 
room  when  you  held  your  business  meeting,"  re- 
plied Enoch.  "I  mean  on  the  night  that  Blake 
and  his  committee  presented  their  report." 

"  Why,  Enoch  ! "  exclaimed  Hopkins,  who  was 
fairly  staggered  by  this  revelation.  "  Didn't  you 
know  that  by  doing  that  you  put  yourselves  in  the 
way  of  the  best  kind  of  a  thrashing  ?  " 

"We  did,  but  we  took  our  chances.  Now,  I 
want  to  ask  you  a  question :  Did  we  shut  the 
door  of  that  lodge-room  against  ourselves  by  play- 
ing the  part  of  spies  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not,"  answered  Egan,  promptly. 
"You  didn't  hear  anything,  and  you  never  will 
until  you  have  traveled — so  and  so." 

Here   Egan    made    several    motions   with  his 


CONCLUSION.  369 

hands,  only  one  of  which  was  intended  to  mean 
something  ;  but  which  one  that  was,  nobody  but 
a  first-class  boy  could  have  told. 

"Now  clear  up  another  point,"  continued 
Egan.  "Did  Bob  Endicott's  lather  know  what 
base  uses  his  carriage  was  going  to  be  put  to  that 
day  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Enoch,  with  a  laugh.  "  Bob 
told  him  that  he  wanted  the  carriage,  and  his 
father  let  him  have  it ;  but  he  did  not  know  what 
was  going  to  be  done  with  it.  Bob  was  sharp 
enough  to  keep  that  to  himself.  He  gave  Sam 
and  the  footman  five  dollars  apiece  for  what  they 
did." 

"  And  they  earned  the  money,"  observed  Curtis. 
"  Blake  and  his  committee  had  a  fearful  time 
finding  their  way  out  of  the  woods,  and  Mr.  Col- 
son  said  that  when  they  came  into  his  office  they 
looked  like  a  lot  of  tramps.  It  was  a  sharp 
trick,  Enoch,  and  no  one  but  you  could  have  man- 
aged it." 

"  And  no  one  but  Lester  Brigham  would  have 
thought  of  it  in  the  first  place,"  said  Egan. 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  Lester's  secrets 
were  not  likely  to  be  revealed.  Huggins  could 


370  THE    YOUNG    WILD-FOWLERS. 

not  say  that  it  was  he  who  suggested  to  Lester 
the  idea  of  running  off  with  a  private  yacht,  for 
he  had  left  school  long  ago  ;  and  Ross  dared  not 
tell  that  he  was  the  one  who  planned  the  stealing 
of  the  class  dinner,  for  he  was  afraid  that  he 
would  be  court-martialed  and  punished  if  he  did. 
Lester's  other  secret  was  in  the  keeping  of  boys 
who  knew  how  to  hold  their  tongues. 

When  the  breakfast  had  been  disposed  of,  and 
the  exciting  and  amusing  incidents  that  happened 
during  their  last  term  at  the  academy,  as  well  as 
the  events  of  the  previous  night,  had  been  thor- 
oughly discussed,  Egan  and  his  party  got  into  the 
canoe  and  pushed  off  for  shore,  to  let  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Egan  see  that  the  missing  boy  .had  come 
back  safe  and  sound,  while  Enoch  and  Jones  went 
aboard  the  Firefly  and  set  sail  for  home.  In  ac- 
cordance with  his  promise,  Enoch  wrote  to  Lester 
that  very  day.  After  telling  him  how  Don  Gor- 
don had  escaped  from  the  coaster,  he  wound  up 
his  letter  as  follows  : 

"We  have  not  seen  Barr  since  his  failure  to 
overhaul  us  after  Don  had  been  taken  on  board 
the  Firefly,  and  I  don't  think  he  will  ever  trouble 
you.  There  are  too  many  things  against  him  that 


CONCLUSION.  371 

» 

he  wouldn't  like  to  have  brought  to  light  in  a 
court  of  law.  Don  knows  nothing  whatever  of 
your  complicity  in  his  abduction,  and  you  may  be 
sure  that  we  shall  not  enlighten  him.  We  hope 
to  see  you  next  term,  but  we  tell  you  plainly  that 
if  you  have  any  more  schemes  for  mischief  in 
your  head,  you  can  keep  them  there,  or  look  to 
somebody  besides  Jones  and  me  to  help  you  carry 
them  out.  We  are  tired  of  pUiying  the  part  of 
scamps  and  law-breakers,  and  are  going  to  see 
how  boys  feel  who  honestly  try  to  behave  them- 
selves. It  will  be  a  novel  experience  to  us,  but 
we  hope  to  live  through  it.  We  are  friends  with 
all  Egan's  party  now,  and  they  have  invited  us  to 
join  them  in  their  hunts  and  pleasure-rides.  They 
didn't  throw  any  fatherly  advice  at  our  heads,  but 
we  have  as  good  evidence  as  we  want  that  they 
will  stand  by  us  and  help  us  all  they  can." 

It  was  wonderful  what  a  change  that  breakfast 
on  board  the  cutter  made  in  Enoch  and  his  friend 
Jones.  After  that  they  were  seen  in  Egan's  com- 
pany almost  every  day,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Magpie,  who  had  more  than  once  told  themselves 
that  Enoch  would  bear  watching,  began  to  think 
that  they  had  been  greatly  mistaken  in  him.  He 


372  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLEKS. 

and  Jones  had  been  brought  to  their  senses  in  the 
same  way  that  Don  Gordon  was.  The  influence 
that  Egan  and  his  friends  exerted  over  them  was 
a  silent  one,  but  it  was  none  the  less  powerful. 
They  often  went  sailing  and  hunting  together, 
and  Enoch's  skill  as  a  wing-shot  enabled  him  to 
present  Bert  Gordon  with  one  of  the  largest  and 
finest  swans  that  had  ever  been  killed  on  the  bay. 
They  did  not  get  a  shot  on  the  day  that  Don  was 
lost  in  the  marshes  (it  was  probable  that  Barr's 
sloop  frightened  the  birds  away),  but  they  after- 
ward had  fine  sport  with  the  swans,  and  every 
one  of  Egan's  guests  took  a  specimen  home  with 
him. 

Affairs  went  smoothly  after  that,  and  the  boys 
who  have  been  spoken  of  in  this  book  as  THE 
YOUNG  WILD-FOWLERS  were  happy — all  except 
Lester  Brigham.  He  was  as  miserable  as  a  boy 
ever  gets  to  be.  When  Don  was  a  prisoner,  and 
in  danger  of  being  sent  off  to  some  distant  port, 
Lester's  terror  almost  drove  him  frantic  ;  but  as 
soon  as  he  learned  that  Don  had  come  safely  out 
of  his  troubles,  that  Enoch  and  Jones  had  been  at 
hand  to  assist  him  when  he  made  that  bold 
"  Swim  for  Liberty,"  and  that  through  his  influ- 


CONCLUSION.  373 

ence  and  Egan's,  his  sworn  friends  had  been  led 
to  desert  him  and  to  resolve  to  mend  their  ways — 
when  Lester  knew  all  these  things,  his  fear  gave 
way  to  rage,  intense  and  bitter.  To  repeat  the 
expression  Enoch  Williams  once  made,  he  could 
not  have  been  more  alone  in  the  "world  if  he  had 
been  set  down  on  Robinson  Crusoe's  island,  before 
the  man  Friday  made  his  appearance.  Bert 
could  hardly  believe  his  ears  when  his  brother 
told  him  that  it  was  Lester  who  put  Barr  up  to 
do  as  he  did,  and  he  threatened  to  expose  him  in 
spite  of  the  pledge  of  secrecy  he  had  given ;  but 
Don  promised  to  duck  him  in  the  bay  if  he  did, 
and  so  Bert  said  nothing,  although  he  stormed  a 
good  deal. 

The  boys  were  sorry  to  say  good-bye  to  their 
genial  host,  but  they  were  eager  to  start  for  home. 
Christmas  was  coming,  and  it  was  a  gala  day  with 
all  of  them.  Don  and  Bert  enjoyed  it,  as  they 
always  did,  but  they  afterward  told  each  other 
that  no  Christmas  had  ever  seemed  quite  like  this 
one.  They  took  solid  comfort  in  looking  back 
over  the  year  that  had  just  passed.  Their  record 
was  a  clear  one,  and  Don  was  happy  in  the 
thought  that  he  had  never  caused  his  mother  a 


374  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

moment's  anxiety  since  Egan,  Hopkins  and  Curtis 
got  hold  of  him.  They  never  got  a  glimpse  of 
Lester  Brigham,  and  neither  did  he  go  back  to 
school  with  them.  His  father,  having  learned 
that  life  on  a  plantation  was  not  just  what  his 
imagination  had  pictured  it,  sold  his  property  in 
Rochdale  and  removed  to  New  Orleans,  where 
Lester  lives  at  this  writing.  Whether  or  not  he 
took  a  high  stand  among  the  boys  there,  we  don't 
know  for  certain,  but  we  feel  safe  in  saying  that 
he  did  not.  His  future  is  easily  predicted.  To 
quote  once  more  from  Enoch,  he  is  all  talk  and  no 
do;  and  a  boy  who  has  that  failing,  is  not  likely 
to  make  much  of  a  man. 

It  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  say  that  Enoch 
and  Jones  held  firmly  to  their  good  resolutions,  in 
spite  of  all  the  temptations  that  came  in  their 
path,  and  that  the  influence  that  had  been  exerted 
upon  them  made  itself  felt,  through  them,  upon 
other  members  of  "the  crowd,"  who  gradually 
fell  into  their  ways.  During  the  term  no  boys 
worked  harder  than  they  did,  and  the  result  of 
the  examination  was  just  what  the  members  of 
the  first  class  said  it  would  be.  Enoch  was  made 
captain,  and  Jones  won  a  first-sergeant's  chevrons. 


CONCLUSION.  375 

Don  and  Bert  did  not  leave  the  academy  at  the 
close  of  the  term,  but  remained  to  take  the  finish- 
ing course,  which  they  will  complete  next  year. 
"What  they  will  do  after  that  they  have  not  yet 
decided  ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if  they  make 
truthfulness,  fidelity  and  manliness  their  guid- 
ing-stars in  the  future,  as  they  have  in  the  past, 
they  will  be  of  some  use  in  their  day  and  gen- 
eration. 

Curtis  is  in  a  fair  way  to  end  his  days  in  the 
regular  army,  and  Enoch  Williams,  to  whom  he 
has  written  glowing  accounts  of  his  life  at  "  The 
Point,"  is  looking  in  the  same  direction,  and 
longing  for  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself 
as  one  of  his  country's  defenders.  He  has  a  fair 
prospect  of  going  to  West  Point.  If  he  is  ever 
iatrusted  with  a  command,  and  exhibits  the  same 
generalship  in  battle  that  he  did  in  carrying  out 
Huggins's  idea,  and  Boss's,  he  will  certainly  win 
a  high  place  in  his  chosen  profession. 

Hopkins  is  studying  law  in  Baltimore,  and 
Egan  is  in  South  America  building  railroads  ; 
but  he  is  coming  home  next  September,  and  has 
invited  all  his  old  friends,  Enoch  and  Jones  in- 
cluded, to  meet  him  at  his  father's  house.  Don 


376  THE   YOUNG   WILD-FOWLERS. 

is  looking  forward  with  impatience  to  a  month's 
sport  with  the  canvas-backs  and  red-heads,  but 
he  does  not  care  to  see  Barr  again,  or  to  be  the 
hero  of  another  adventure  like  the  one  we  have 
attempted  to  describe  in  THE  YOUNG  WILD- 
FOWLERS. 


THE  END. 


Famous  iCasttemon  Boohs. 


No  author  of  the  present  day  has  become  a  greater  favorite 
with  boys  than  "  Harry  Castlemon,"  every  book  by  him  is  sure 
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naturalness  and  vivacity  leads  his  readers  from  page  to  page 
with  breathless  interest,  and  when  one  volume  is  finished  the 
fascinated  reader,  like  Oliver  Twist,  asks  "  for  more." 


By  Harry  iDastlemon. 


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4 


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trated.     i6mo I  25 

CAMPAIGN  SERIES.     By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.,  in 
box  containing  the  following.    3  vols.     i6mo.    Cloth, 

extra,  black  and  gold 3  75 

(Sold  separately.) 

Frank's  Campaign;    or,  the  Farm  and  the   Camp. 

Illustrated.      i6mo I   25 

Paul  Prescott's  Charge.     Illustrated.     i6mo.     .    .       I   25 
Charlie  Codman's  Cruise.     Illustrated.      i6mo.    .       i  25 

PACIFIC  SERIES.    By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.    4  vols. 

i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 5  oo 

(Sold  separately.) 

The  Young  Adventurer;   or,  Tom's  Trip  Across 

the  Plains.     Illustrated.     i6mo I   25 

The  Young  Miner;  or,  Tom  Nelson  in  California. 

Illustrated.       161110 I   25 

The  Young  Explorer ;  or,  Among  the  Sierras.     Il- 
lustrated.    161110 

Ben's  Nugget ;  or,  A  Boy's  Search  for  Fortune.     A 
Story  of  th£  Pacific  Coast.     Illustrated.     i6mo.  .    .    . 


The  Young  Circus  Rider;  or,  The  Mystery  of 
Robert  Rudd.  Being  the  1st  volume  of  the  "  Atlantic 
Series."  Illustrated.  161110.  Cloth,  extra,  black 
and  gold I  25 


PORTER  t  COATES  s  POPULAR  JUVENILES.  7 

Do  and  Dare;  or,  A  Brave  Boy's  Fight  for  Fortune. 
Being  the  2(1  volume  of  the  "  Atlantic  Series."  Illus- 
trated. i6mo.  Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold  ....  jji  25 

Hector's  Inheritance  ;  or,  Boys  of  Smith  Institute. 
Being  the  3d  volume  of  the  "  Atlantic  Series."  Illus- 
trated. 1 61110.  Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold  ....  I  25 


By  C.  A.  Stephens. 


Rare  books  for  boys — bright,  breezy,  wholesome  and  instruc- 
tive— full  of  adventure  and  incident,  and  information  upon 
natural  history — they  blend  instruction  with  amusement — contain 
much  useful  and  valuable  information  upon  the  habits  of  animals, 
and  plenty  of  adventure,  fun  and  jollity. 

CAMPING  OUT  SERIES.  By  C.  A.  Stephens. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  6  vols.  i6mo. 

Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold $75° 

(Sold  separately.) 

Camping  Out.      As  recorded  by  "  Kit."     With  eight 

full-page  illustrations.     i6mo I  25 

Left  on  Labrador;  or,  The  Cruise  of  the  Schooner 
Yacht  "  Curlew  "  As  recorded  by  "Wash."  With 
eight  full-page  illustrations.  l6mo I  25 

Off  to  the  Geysers ;  or,  The  Young  Yachters  in 
Iceland.  As  recorded  by  "  Wade."  With  eight  full- 
page  illustrations.  i6mo I  25 

Lynx  Hunting.  From  Notes  by  the  Author  of 
"Camping  Out."  With  eight  full-page  illustrations. ' 
l6mo. I  25 

Fox  Hunting.    As  recorded  by  "  Raed."    With  eight 

full-page  illustrations.      i6mo I  25 

On  the  Amazon  ;  or,  the  Cniise  of  the  "  Rambler." 
As  recorded  by  "Wash."  With  eight  full-page  illus- 
trations. l6mo I  25 


PORTER  &  COATEb's  POPULAR  JUVENILES. 

By  ].  IT.  ITrou)bri6ge. 


These  stories  will  rank  among  the  best  of  Mr.  Trowbridge's 
books  for  the  young,  and  he  has  wriiten  some  of  the  best  of  our 
juvenile  literature. 

JACK  HAZARD  SERIES.  By  J.  T.  Trowbridge. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  6  vols.  i6mo. 

Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold $7  50 

(Sold  separately.) 

Jack  Hazard  and  his  Fortunes.      With  twenty 

illustrations.      l6mo I   25 

A  Chance  for  Himself;    or,  Jack  Hazard  and  his 

Treasure.     With  nineteen  illustrations.     i6mo.  ...       I   25 

Doing  his  Best.     With  twenty  illustrations.     i6mo.        I   25 

Fast  Friends.     With  seventeen  illustrations.       i6mo.       I  25 

The   Young   Surveyor ;    or,  Jack  on  the  Prairies. 

With  twenty-one  illustrations.       i6mo I  25 

Lawrence's  Adventures  Among  the  Ice  Cut- 
ters, Glass  Makers,  Coal  Miners,  Iron  Men  and  Ship 
Builders.  With  twenty-four  illustrations.  i6mo.  .  .  I  25 


By  £6utar6  $.  Ellis, 


A  New  Series  of  Books  for  Boys,  equal  in  interest  to  the  "  Cas- 
tlemon"  and  "Alger"  books.  His  power  of  description  of 
Indian  life  and  character  is  equal  to  the  best  of  Cooper. 

BOY  PIONEER  SERIES.     By  Edward  S.  Ellis. 

In  box  containing  the  following.     3  vols.     Illustrated. 

Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold $3  75 

(Sold  separately.) 
Ned  in  the  Block  House ;  or,  Eife  on  the  Frontier. 

Being  the  1st  volume  of  the  "Boy  Pioneer  Series." 

Illustrated.     i6mo I  25 

Ned  in  the  Woods.     Being  the  2d  volume  of  the 

"  Boy  Pioneer  Series."     Illustrated.      l6mo J   25 

Ned  on  the  River.     Being  the  3d  volume  of  the 

"Boy  Pioneer  Series."     Illustrated.     i6mo i  25 


THE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  Oi<  CALIFORNIA 
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